Hero of Elysium
by Admiral Anderson
Summary: Elysium seems like a perfect place for Shepard to spend his shoreleave before the company he is serving in will be deployed. Before he knows it he finds himself in a full scale invasion by pirates and slavers. Shepard must fight to keep himself and his squad alive while trying to save the colony from total destruction.
1. Diamond of the Petra Nebula

**Hero of Elysium**

**Chapter 1: Diamond of the Petra Nebula**

_Alliance Troop Transport SSV Gold Beach in orbit over Elysium_

Shepard was standing alone in the portside obeservation bay admiring Elysium, the planet that he would call home for the coming months. A good place to blow of steam, if the stories he had heard about it were true. Before shipping out captain Kahoku had also briefed them all on the colony, providing some basic facts about it.

The oldest human colony in the Skyllian Verge closely resembled Earth, with similar landmasses and oceans. Due to it's strategic position in the mass-relay network, Elysium had quickly become a major hub for travel and commerce. As a result many different species followed, integrating themselves in the fast growing population. As it grew over the years so did the demand for more protection. After much debate, Alliance Parliament had decided to reinforce Elysium with more troops and ships. The Eighth Marine division would be stationed on Elysium to ensure its safety while also using it as a staging area for future Alliance operations. Until the deployment of the division had been completed, Alliance marines like himself would be having well earned shore leave.

"Well I figured you would be here, enjoying the view Shepard?"

He turned around to face his second in command of Bravo squad corporal Lee Marshall. They both knew each other since basic training and had become close friends despite their different upbringings. Marshall had grown up without parents in Hong Kong and joined the Alliance because it was the only way to escape a life of poverty on Earth while Shepard came from a strong military family. He enlisted with the Alliance after turning 18, following in his parents footsteps.

"Among other things, care to join me?"

"Might as well since I wanted to talk to you about something." Lee took a spot next to him, shortly taking in Elysium before he spoke up again.

"How long is it going to take before we touch down on that colony? Because I think our fearless lieutenant has outstayed his welcome with the crew of the Gold beach."

Lieutenant Daniel Richards had only joined the unit a couple of weeks ago but had already burned al his bridges with the soldiers under his command. That was bad enough on it's own but the crew manning the ship didn't escape his welcoming personality either. Shepard had quietly searched up some information regarding their new leader after several incidents he had to defuse. It made for boring reading.

Coming from Alliance intelligence Richards had never been in active combat before, a huge blockade for any upcoming promotion. That meant the only reason he was here was to get combat experience before advancing up the chain of command. Fortunately for everyone involved, Elysium had never come under attack despite the ever present treath of pirate raids. The chance that Richards would have to command soldiers in combat was therefore rather slim.

"Well I checked with the pilot and he told me our departure time has been moved up by two hours so we can tell the squad to get their gear ready."

Marshall let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God, another day longer stuck in space with Richards and we would have been forced to drop him on an uncharted planet."

"Hold that thought Lee, it may prove useful later." Both men shared a laugh as they left to find the rest of Bravo squad.

* * *

_Alliance HQ – Fort Constantine – Elysium_

Fleet Admiral Tom Moore was sitting in the war room, reading with growing disbelief the orders he had received from Alliance High command on Earth. His superiors deemed it necessary to delay the deployment of the Eighth Marine division by several weeks due to lack of pirate activity. He knew that recent combat operations had delivered a huge blow to pirates assests in the Skyllian Verge, effectively wiping out several criminal factions. The fact that there had been no signs of pirate ships for over a month was all the evidence they needed. Why send Alliance troops to Elysium when there was no tangible proof of any danger?

"Well Robert command reacted as I had predicted, orders are to just defend the colony with the forces that we have at our disposal right now." Moore looked up from the data pad to his second in command from the Sixth fleet, Rear admiral Robert Carrington. He wanted to know the opinion of his subordinate who had proven to be quite useful in the past.

Carrington frowned as he thought about what this meant for their defense force. "The majority of the fleet was send back to Earth for a maintenance overhaul, leaving only a token force of frigates and a single cruiser to defend the system. We both know that should we come under attack from a hostile force, our only option is to delay them but without reinforcements that won't last long."

"Sir, I have an update for you." Moore's military aide reported.

"Go ahead major, we're listening."

"The SSV Gold Beach has arrived in orbit over Elysium and will be landing shortly at Fort Contantine. It contains the Forth company from the Eighth marine division."

"That's the best news I've heard today, make sure that the commanding officer has his orders waiting for him upon arrival." The major snapped off a salute as he took his leave.

Moore glanced at his omni-tool, his shuttle would be arriving shortly. "Enough work for today Robert, we can spare some time to visit the Philadelphia. I know her commanding officer will be glad to hear that the company her son is serving in has arrived."

* * *

_Batarian diplomatic ship Salt Cloud – Unspecified location – Terminus systems_

"Destroy the colony on Elysium and leave no civilian or military survivors, whatever resources you can find are yours. Make a statement that the Alliance will never forget, maybe then they will learn to cease their foolish expansion plans." The batarian representative for the Hegemony had a cruel smile when he finished his instructions.

Elanos Haliat didn't like to deal with the batarian Hegemony, personally he despised them. Like everyone else he had heard stories about the incredible military might the batarians claimed to have. Information collected over the years he had dealt with them however painted another picture. Their armies and fleets were a hollow threat, lacking proper equipment and leadership. Fortunate for them a giant government propaganda machine did an admirable job of hiding these flaws. Still they had money and influence, two things he needed if he wanted to become the unofficial leader of all the pirate crews. For the time being those criminals listened to him but without further successes a dagger in his back was bound to happen.

"Just see to it that the credits are in place and you will have your war. One that can only start if you know how to disable the automated defenses on Elysium." He added. "If those damm things are still active when I arrive our fleet will be decimated."

"Don't worry about that, I have someone in the Alliance military who will take care of it. Your only concern is to achieve victory over the Alliance forces. I'm certain you already know what happens to people who fail us?"

A shiver ran down his spine, every pirate had also heard the stories about the long list of people who failed their batarian sponsors. Most of them simply disappeared inside the infamous prisons they possessed. Not a retirement plan he was looking forward to.

"Yeah yeah you don't have to tell me twice, I'll take care of it."

* * *

**Alliance codex**

**Alliance Eighth Marine division: **A fighting force that consists of fifteen thousand Alliance marines drawn from all sovereign powers on Earth. It was founded shortly before the First Contact War had begun and was among the reinforcements send to liberate Shanxi under the command of General Paul Constantine. Fighting a unknown enemy for the first time put a huge amount of pressure on the marines. Even so, they fought a successful campaign to dislodge turian forces from the planet, earning them a reputation as a force to be reckoned with.

It is currently being send from Earth to the Alliance colony of Elysium in order to strengthen ground forces in the Petra Nebula. Deployment of the division has been slowed down however thanks to political bickering inside the Alliance parliament.

Its current commander is General Andrew Constantine, son of Paul Constantine.

* * *

First chapter is done, can't wait to start working on the next one. In some chapters you will see the Alliance codex which contains non-cannon entries into the Mass effect trilogy. I got the idea of writing a codex after reading **Mass Effect: The First War **by ProfFartBurger so he deserves all the credit for this idea.

Admiral Anderson


	2. Taking some time off

**Chapter 2: Taking some time off**

_Alliance Vehicle depot 451 – Fort Constantine - Elysium_

"Why did I let you convince me to do this? I must be insane that is the only logical explanation. If we survive this I'm going to live every day like it was my last one."

Shepard looked to his side and saw Lee with his hands clamped to his seat and a look on his face somewhere between amusement and fear. After landing at one of the many space-ports, his squad had boarded a shuttle heading towards Fort Constantine. The main headquarters for the Alliance military on Elysium and the most secure garrison in the Petra Nebula.

Having spent several weeks on a cramped troop transport he wanted to have some fun and when Lee saw the parked Mako's, Shepard knew just what to do. Nobody would miss the tanks, at least that was what he hoped for. The sergeant of Alpha squad liked his idea of a race and would take the second Mako. Marshall on the other hand needed some convincing before he boarded the Mako.

"Have a little faith Lee, don't forget that I'm qualified to operate this tank." He assured while trying to figure out how the driving controls worked. It had been a long time since he last drove one of these.

"Is that so?" Lee rolled with his eyes. "The fact that you and the instructor were together didn't influence her decision to let you pass?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Lee." The engine came alive with a loud roar and he slowly pulled up besides the other Mako.

"Uhuh, please win because I've got a lot of credits riding on this, credits I don't actually have."

"Good for you then I don't challenge people unless I'm absolutely certain of coming out victorious. Besides I know of a shortcut along the track in case we fall to far behind."

"I don't know about that John, I seem to recall a newly promoted sergeant trying to beat me in a drinking game. And that said individual passed out sooner than me on the table."

Lee still had to chuckle every time he thought of Shepard trying to dance with another female marine after the 20th drink. Being drunk didn't improve his dancing moves, then again they couldn't get any worse.

"Well at least I woke up just in time to carry your sorry ass back to the barracks. My advice for you Lee, don't order another round when you've won."

"I'll try to remember that good advice, thanks John." Lee stated sarcastically.

"Did you tell anybody else what we were planning to do?" A large group of soldiers stood around either side of the finish line, cheering them on while the tanks pulled up besides each other.

"Well the whole company wanted to know what we were up to so I told them." Shepard could hear the surprise in Lee's voice, even he hadn't expect to see so many people.

"Apparently nobody wanted to miss the legendary Alpha versus Bravo race. Or they showed up to see you crash a Mako, also a likely possibility." He added with a smirk.

Shepard watched how a soldier waived a flag for them to start. "Then let's give them a show they won't forget."

* * *

"Corporal Rachel Ramirez reporting for duty sir" She saluted the officer in front of her. "The company commander told me to report here to know which squad I would join."

Rachel was well aware how the man examined her thoroughly before returning the salute. The look in his eyes made her skin crawl. _Calm down girl, he's not worth it_. She had dealt with this sort of people before.

"Is that so well let me look up you're file." Richards typed in her information and read the results carefully. "Apparently you show a lot of promise corporal, to bad about the disciplinary record. We can always use another marine but hitting a superior officer is definitely not tolerated."

"Understood sir, it won't happen here."

"It better not, now you are to report to sergeant Shepard of Bravo squad. He is probably somewhere near the vehicle depot. Oh and when you see him tell him that military property isn't for personal use."

"Sir." She frowned at that last remark and even more when the officer pointed towards the window.

In the distance near a large building she could see a large crowd of people gathered around some Mako's. On top of the tanks she noticed two figures waiving and walking around while the crowd cheered them on.

"Like I said." The officer motioned for her to leave. "Don't forget to tell him that, the sergeant isn't exactly subtle down there. Should you have any problems or questions you can always look me up for assistance, dismissed corporal Ramirez."

* * *

"Thank you! Thank you! I couldn't have done it without my trusty subordinate." While addressing the crowd Shepard padded Marshall on the back.

"Even when we jumped a ravine to win some time he stood by me, while also trying not to throw up."

"Everybody is a comedian around here." Lee jumped down from the tank and approached his friends. "Alright everybody Shepard won so if you would kindly give me my credits we can all be on our way."

Shepard got back in the driver seat and parked the Mako inside the vehicle depot, after walking outside he saw how the rest of the group migrated to the mess hall. _Good idea, I could use a drink right about now._

"Excuse me sir, are you sergeant Shepard?"

He stopped running when he heard the female voice from behind him and turned around to face her. "That I am soldier, how can I be of service?" The woman was in standard Alliance combat armor, carrying a duffle bag with personal belongings.

"Corporal Ramirez, I'm joining Bravo squad as the new sniper." Standing at attention she tried to hide her nervousness. While in training she had heard things about Shepard, most of them good. He was someone who leaded by example and not from behind his men. Maybe that's why people became so quickly loyal to him?

"That's good news we can always use more people around here, why don't you tell me something about yourself?" He opened up his omni-tool to consult her military records while she started talking.

"There isn't much to tell really, I grew up on the Citadel on account of my parents being diplomats for humanity. The presidium is an interesting place to live but gets boring after a while, plus I'm not really a diplomatic kind of person." A trait she had learned the hard way. "I wanted to do something that mattered, so I enlisted with the Alliance navy. After basic training I went on a few combat operations and now I'm here."

"We're glad to have you." He closed his omni-tool and cracked a smile. "Now let's introduce you to the rest of the unit, they're quite a bunch but you can trust all off them with your life. Most of them are the mess hall so … ." He stopped talking when a loud voice reached him.

"Hey Shepard! Do you expect me to drink everything myself to celebrate our victory? I mean I'm good but not that good."

"Well Ramirez the loudmouth over there is my second in command, Marshall meet corporal Rachel Ramirez. She is … ." Shepard began explaining.

"Beautiful." Lee answered in his place, appearing to be star struck for a moment before regaining his composure.

"Uhmm well I meant to say that you're good looking, well don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to make fun of you, I was only ..."

Shepard decided to intervene before the rambling of his friend got out of hand.

"What Lee _**means**_ to say Ramirez is that he will gladly carry your duffle bag. Now let's go and get that drink he was talking about. It isn't everyday I get to boast of victory over Alpha squad."

Rachel was slightly amused by the corporals attempt of flirting but something important sprung up in her mind when Shepard stopped talking.

"About that, a lieutenant at HQ wanted me to tell you that army property isn't for personal use."

"Your talking about our esteemed leader lieutenant Richards, didn't know he kept such a close eye on me." He thought about the repercussions for a moment. "Well should he make a case of it we can always say we were practicing with the Mako. Not that I need any practice of course." He added with a chuckle.

Making a follow me motion, Shepard headed off to the mess hall with Rachel and Lee in tow. The last one already regretting to be volunteered for carrying luggage.

* * *

_SSV Philadelphia in orbit over Elysium_

"The shuttle carrying Admiral Moor and Rear admiral Carrington has docked ma'am." The pilots voice over the intercom came as welcoming distraction for Hannah, for the last few hours she had been up in her cabin going over administration. Her promotion as captain of the Philadelphia had only taken place a few months ago, so there were still several things she could improve aboard the ship. Handling administration proved to be the most time-consuming. Still she was thrilled to be in command of a state of the art cruiser on her maiden voyage.

"Thanks Dana, tell the admirals I'll greet them in a couple of minutes."

"Roger that, should I do a few stunts with the cruiser in the mean time to entertain them?" Dana asked with a glimmer of hope.

"Seems a bit excessive don't you think, just welcoming will be enough."

"Understood captain, I'll save it for later." A soft sound and the pilot's slightly disappointed voice was gone.

Before she left the cabin her eyes drifted to the photos on the desk near her computer. From left to right they bared images from a happy family on vacation, at home and other special occasions. The one she treasured mostly was the one from herself, her husband Jack and John, who was just over a few weeks old.

On it she stood close to Jack laughing at the camera while holding John in her arms. The photo had been taken when the dreadnought they served on was in dry-dock at Norfolk naval base for maintenance. The SSV Mt. Elbrus was commanded by Jack at the time and she was serving as his XO. More than once they clashed with each other, still she respected him and eventually came to love him.

The day John was born on the Elbrus was one of the happiest moments of her life, she still had to laugh when she remembered how Jack reacted to the news of John's birth. After holding him for a few minutes he proudly announced over the intercom that they had a new crewmember and before she knew it the med bay was overrun with visitors bringing gifts and congratulations.

Hannah let her fingers slide around the ring she still carried after all this time, sometimes she wondered how things would have turned out if he was still alive. Jack had passed away two years ago, leaving a gaping hole in her heart. His loss had been hard on all of them, fortunately she had John and Jane. Standing together, life slowly returned to normal. She smiled warmly when she looked down at the small golden ring. Deep down inside she knew he would always be with her.

Her trip down memory lane ended when the alarm on her omni-tool warned her she was running late to welcome the admirals. After making a quick dash to the elevator she pressed the button for the CIC. When the elevator doors opened a friendly voice came from the cockpit, Moore was telling one of his stories to Dana.

"Really, you don't believe it? Then listen to this. When I flew at helm of the Elbrus I've pulled a few stunts myself, like that one time when I went head to head with a turian dreadnought. Those birds make powerful ships but their pilots aren't so though as they think, a flaw I decided to point out to them." With a smile he continued his story. "Just before we would collide with each other the turian pilot pulled out of my flying lane with just a few meters to spare. They're good sports at least because their captain bought me a drink after the joint exercise."

"You left out the part where Jack gave you a lecture when you got back from the bar." She stated, making Moore turn around.

"Hannah there you are."

"Good to see you to Tom."She was nearly lifted off the ground when Moore hugged her instead of giving a hand.

"Okay I'll admit that Jack wasn't too pleased about my behavior." He admitted with a grin. "After the yelling had stopped he also told me if he'd been in my shoes he would've done the same thing."

"Nice to see you again captain Shepard, I have to thank you for getting me a whole new perspective on Admiral Moore." Carrington shook her hand, smiling warmly.

"Oh I could tell even more stories about him but let's save those for another time." Her eyes shifted to her pilot. "Dana I'm taking the admirals to the mess hall, make sure we're not disturbed."

"Aye Aye ma'am, talk to you later Admirals." After saluting Moore and Carrington she returned to her work.

When they reached the mess hall and took their seats the conversation turned to more personal matters. "So I have some good news for you Hannah, John has arrived on Elysium with part of the promised reinforcements." Moore could see that the news made her day since her face lighted up instantly.

"Really? That's great, it has been so long since we talked to each other in person. Maybe he can take a moment from his duties to visit his mother and niece."

"Niece, do you have another child under your wings?" Carrington asked suprised.

"Well Jane was the daughter of Jacks brother. He and his family were farmers on Mindoir, but when the batarian slavers ripped through the colony, all of them were killed in the fighting. His ten year old daughter was the only survivor of the family." Hannah would never forget the pain she felt when they were buried and even though Jane was wounded she stood next to her saying goodbye to her parents.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude into your personal life."

"Don't mention it, you didn't know." She could see how Carrington relaxed slightly as she continued to talk. "We were her only relatives so me and Jack took her in and raised her to be the person she is today."

"Is Jane still on Earth or did she move with you to Arcturus station?" Jane and Moore had gotten along famously when Hannah was stationed there, most of the time he was covering up all the trouble Jane got in.

"She is closer than you might think Moore, for the period that I'm stationed here she is taking classes at Illyria military school." A crewmember coughed silently behind her indicating that the meal was ready to be served.

"Time to eat, enjoy the meal Admirals."

* * *

**Alliance codex**

**Philadelphia class cruiser**: Named after the city on Earth where the first cruiser of its kind was manufactured, Philadelphia class cruisers are designed to be the successors of the outdated Genava class cruisers. More maneuverable than most council races cruisers, it boasts improved weaponry, shields and armor. This first cruiser of its class received its baptism of fire during the Battle of Elysium under the command of Captain Hannah Shepard.

**Fort Constantine: **Named after General Paul Constantine who was in command of the ground forces sent to liberate the colony of Shanxi during the First Contact War.

Fort Constantine maintains a standing garrison of one thousand Alliance soldiers at all times. It is the nerve center of the Alliance in the Petra Nebula. It has two naval space ports capable of fielding eight fighter and bomber squadrons. Command and control is housed in the Central operations building, directing both ground and naval forces. The Tenth Alliance armored recon division is also based here. This division has two hundred armored infantry fighting vehicles at its disposal. In order to defend these assets, a vast netwerk of Gardian Laser turrets surrounds Fort Constantine.

The current commander of Fort Constantine is Colonel Enrico Giraldo, a veteran from the First Contact War.


	3. Family matters

**Chapter 3: Family matters**

_Alliance HQ - Fort Constantine - Elysium_

"Morning private, I'm supposed to meet lieutenant Richards. Can you inform him that sergeant Shepard has arrived."

He had no idea why Richards wanted to speak with him but wasn't really looking forward to it. His head was still pounding after last night's celebration, talking with his superior would only make it worse.

"The lieutenant is talking with captain Kahoku right now, if you like you can wait over there Sir." The secretary pointed towards some nearby seats surrounding a small table.

He thanked her and took the seat that seemed the most comfortable. The table in front of him had magazines on them over a year old so he decided to read his messages to keep himself occupied. He kept shifting through them until he saw one from his mother.

_From: Captain Hannah Shepard_

_I've heard some good news from Moore yesterday, he told me that you have shore leave on Elysium. The Philadelphia is also in the Vetus system so I thought it would be nice if we could see each other again and do some catching up. I've heard of a good restaurant in downtown Illyria that is quite popular with Alliance personnel, we can meet up there when you have time._

_There is also someone else who is eager to see you, so don't keep us waiting too long before you answer._

_Love_

_Mom_

He laughed silently while he formed his answer, the last time he had talked with his mother in person was on Jane's birthday a few months ago. Like most soldiers he regretted only one thing about a career in the military, not being able to see your family in person whenever you wanted.

The silence around him vanished instantly when Richard's door flew open and Kahoku marched out furiously. He could tell that the man was worked up about something. "Carry out my orders or I'll find someone else who can do it instead, my patience has been tested long enough lieutenant!" Leaving a pale Richards in his wake, Kahoku left without a backwards look.

"I think the lieutenant can see to you now Sir." The secretary gave him an encouraging smile when he walked past her and into Richards office.

"Take a seat Shepard, we've got something important to discuss." Richards closed a dossier on his desk while watching him.

"The Alliance would like to show the public on Earth what we're doing in this part of the galaxy, so they're sending a reporter from ANN to join us while we are stationed on Elysium. Captain Kahoku has decided that the journalist will be following Bravo squad, taking film footage and interviews from you. As you may have heard he and I disagree on this matter, the captain has faith in you but I don't."

_I really shoud've taken that aspirin before coming here. _He tried to maintain his focus because Richards wasn't done talking just yet.

"I want it to be perfectly clear that if you discredit the Alliance in any way, I'll make it my life purpose to get you discharged. Do we understand each other Shepard?"

"Yes Sir." He replied shortly.

"The journalist can be found inside the atrium, don't keep him waiting to long."

He began to leave the office but not before he asked Richards a question. "Sir if the reporter wants to see an officer who doesn't have a clue about real combat who should I send him to?"

"Get out now Shepard or you will be spending the rest of your shore leave in jail!" He went outside pleased about seeing the barely contained anger of his superior.

* * *

He had no trouble in finding the reporter who stood out from most people anyway because he wore bulletproof armor with the letters ANN on it, the camera drone hovering over his head was also a giveaway. The face of the old man had several scars on them, making him guess that he must've been some kind of soldier or mercenary.

Shepard approached the journalist and extended his hand to greet him. "Sergeant Shepard from Bravo squad, I've been informed we're going to be working together for a while."

The reporter shook Shepard's hand with a firm grip. "You must be John, didn't expect to see you someday. Name is David Shaw from ANN, you can call the drone Nuke."

"Have we met before?" He had a strange feeling that he recognized the reporter from somewhere.

"Not directly we haven't but I knew your old man. Served with him for a couple of tours." He tapped some commands into his omni-tool, causing a red light to apear on the drone.

_Show time. _He could safely assume that from now on everything he said would be filmed.

I'm looking forward to see you in action, the people I've spoken to so far will follow you anywhere even into hell should that be necessary. I can't wait to uncover the reason why they would want to do that."

"Stick around long enough, maybe you'll find an answer to that question."

"I can hope." Shaw picked up his bags and looked up to him. "If you don't mind, could you show me my quarters. I've got to get to work right away, the suits at Earth are expecting an update asap."

Shepard proceeded with him in tow through the atrium. The drone hovered ahead in front of them, its camera pointing at him and Shaw all the time.

"I've got to ask, why do you call that drone Nuke?"

Shaw smiled mysteriously. "I don't think you'll have trouble in figuring it out for yourself, trust me you'll be glad that Nuke is with us when we're getting shot at."

After dropping Shaw and his strange robot off he went to the firing range, eager to test out a new gun he'd received earlier today. The M-15 Vindicator according to the armory sergeant easily outmatched the standard issued M8-Avenger. Gunshots in the distance made clear that he wasn't the only one who wanted to practice today, upon closer inspection he could see who they belonged to.

Both Lee and Rachel were crouched in firing positions attempting to hit the numerous targets spread across the firing range, not an easy task considering the high speed of the cardboard foes.

"Stop moving you little bastard, almost got you." Before Lee could take the shot however the cardboard target already dropped to the ground. "Aww come on, I'd claimed that one."

"Did you now? I coudn't see your name written on it." Rachel countered back teasingly.

Lee attached his gun to his back while shaking his head in disbelief and finally noticed him. "Shepard how did the meeting go with the big man?"

"About as well as you would expect, lots of talking and several threats at me. He wants me to let a reporter tag along with us for some sort of documentary about life in the military."

"That's great! I've always wanted to win an Oscar and see my name in big letters on bill boards, don't worry Rachel you can be my side kick when they make movies about me."

She snorted in response and rolled her eyes. "How very generous of you."

Shepard inspected the Vindicator while they continued their bickering and crouched to test it out against the still moving targets. After a few minutes of firing it he started to go into a trance, mowing down target after target.

"How long did he have that rifle?" Rachel asked in confusion when she saw how Shepard didn't miss a single one.

"I've no idea, doesn't matter anyway. I swear he must've come out of the womb with a gun already in his hands." Lee leaned against a few ammo crates as he and Rachel kept observing Shepard.

* * *

_Migrant fleet – Heavy cruiser Ysra - Valhallan Threshold_

Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay was walking down one of the many corridors that the Ysra possessed on her way to a meeting with the rest of the admiralty board, pondering over what happened to Tali yesterday.

She had joined Mira to watch Tali and her class receive an award for the work they had performed on restoring an old merchant freighter to working condition. When Tali had stepped forward to accept the reward she and Mira had jumped up with the rest of the audience, cheering and applauding. True to her character Tali nervously waived back to the crowd in front of her.

Even from her seat Raan could see a change in Tali's body langue after she'd stepped back to stand among her classmates. The reason why Tali was upset wasn't hard to figure out for Raan. Even when a special moment in his daughters life took place Rael'Zorah was nowhere to be seen. She knew that Tali had hoped to see him next to her mother and was sad for her that Rael had other things that demanded his presence.

After the ceremony she had asked out of earshot from Tali where Rael was, even though she was Rael's wife Mira couldn't give an answer. Raan knew that being an admiral carried a lot of responsibility and vast amounts of work that left little time for a personal life. Yet she still found that he was letting his work affect his family and it was starting to have an impact on them.

She was also well aware that he had made a promise to Mira and Tali which was almost impossible to make true. Building a house on the home world for them, a place where they could live in peace. She wondered if he was right to make that promise, even the most positive projections presented to the admiralty board revealed that it would take several decades before her people could reclaim their home world.

Her train of thoughts stopped when she stood before the conference room where the admiralty board had gathered. As she took her place she realized that Gerrel and Korris hadn't arrived yet. More than likely they were already arguing about the right course of action before they even knew all the facts. Only Xen and Rael were sitting behind the huge table in the room. Kal'Reegar who was going to deliver a full account of his mission in the Terminus systems was standing in front of the board.

"When are we going to start Raan? I can think of far better things to use my time for." Xen was sitting next to with her head leaning on her hands clearly bored out of her mind.

"Gerrel and Korris will be here shortly Xen, try to be patient for a while longer." Her words weren't even cold when the missing admirals entered the room in a hurried pace before finding their seats.

After her opening words in which she thanked their ancestors the other admirals leaned forward in anticipation of Reegar to begin.

"Admirals, roughly 5 hours ago my unit while on patrol in the Terminus systems encountered a pirate frigate that had engine trouble. The pirates didn't want to surrender so after disabling their defenses we boarded her. Receiving little resistance from the pirate crew we stopped them from trying to scuttle their vessel, only their captain wasn't taken prisoner."

"What happened to him?" Korris asked curiously.

"He made the mistake of barricading himself inside an airlock, when we told him to surrender he activated the wrong door."

"I see, proceed Reegar."

"One of my men data-mined the ships computers and recovered information that was highly classified, from what I understand it seems to be a detailed invasion plan of a human colony. Containing information about troop numbers, primary targets and expected opposition."

Every admiral looked to the datapads in front of them wich contained a summary of the data provided by fleet intelligence. Meanwhile Reegar finished his report.

"We then handed the prisoners over to a passing council patrol ship before returning to the migrant fleet with the salvaged frigate."

"Thank you for your account of the events Reegar. You've made your people proud. Go get some rest, you've earned it."

"Yes ma'am." Reegar saluted Raan and the other admirals and went outside. For a moment everybody was silently processing this new information. She looked away from her datapad when Gerrel started the debate.

"I say let's warn the humans, when we go to war against the geth they could be a powerful ally."

"Hah of course you would say that, must I remind you that we have almost no idea about their motives. I'd rather keep the information to ourselves, let humanity work the problems they have out on their own."

"Wake up Korris!" Rael did little effort to hide the contempt in his voice. "Have you seen what they accomplished during the first contact war? They stood alone against the Turian hierarchy and defeated them without assistance from another race. We wouldn't have to give them that data for free they should offer something in return for it. Han is right, it would only be beneficial to us in the long run."

"What do you think Xen?" Raan was wondering why the woman remained very silent during the debate.

"For once I agree with Korris, we've survived for almost 300 years without help from another race. The only thing we should be worried about is regaining control over the geth."

All admirals now looked at her to voice her opinion. So far two admirals were in favor of sharing the data and two were against it. She didn't have to think long about what to do.

"Humanity has only been part of the galactic community for a few decades, we may not know what their motives are but we can be sure of one thing. They don't share the opinion that most other races have on our people. If we help the Alliance now you can be certain that they won't forget us in case we need them."

"On what grounds are you basing that on Raan?"

"I've met some of them a few years ago when they helped us fend off a pirate attack on one our scout ships." She explained. "The commanding admiral of the Alliance fleet requested a meeting in person, which I accepted and we had a long conversation about our species. We have more in common with humanity then you might think Zaal." Korris leaned back in his chair after her explanation, not entirely satisfied with it.

"Let's begin the voting, all who are in favor off sharing the data please raise a hand." She looked at the other admirals and saw that only Xen and Korris were opposed.

"Then it's decided. The data will be delivered to the humans, I'll see to it personally. The meeting is adjourned, Keelah se'lai."

As the board started to leave the room she briefly thought of having a few words with Rael regarding his family. Before she could make up her mind though he walked away with Gerrel. Raan sighted shortly, making a mental note to herself to confront him at a later time. He really needed to change his attitude towards his loved ones.

Still pondering on how to approach such a sensitive subject, she made her way back to the Raya.


	4. Warning signs

**Chapter 4: Warning signs**

_SSV Iwo Jima in orbit over Elysium_

Admiral Moore was standing beside Carrington in front of the memorial wall made to honor the crew of the first Iwo Jima, recognizing some names of close friends he would never see again. When the news had reached him of her destruction with her entire crew over Camala he could hardly believe it. In the years following the tragic loss he had campaigned heavily with the Alliance brass to build a successor of the Iwo Jima. Standing in it now felt like he could finally say goodbye to his fallen comrades.

"Did you know any of them sir?"

"Most of them I did Robert, take her pilot for instance." He pointed to a name somewhere near the middle of the wall. "She and me joined up at the same time, after our training we were both stationed on the Iwo Jima. She flew the ship and as her co-pilot my job was to make sure that she didn't crash." He still had fond memories of that time, some better than others.

"I left when the opportunity to fly a dreadnought presented itself to me, if I hadn't my name would also be on that wall." That thought had cost him a lot of sleep over the years. "How did the inspection of the ship go?"

"Well the ship is working as intended, there is one thing that I'd like to point out however. Her captain has some combat experience but most of his crew consists of new recruits, we can't predict how good they will perform in actual combat." Carrington concluded.

"When the rest of the sixth fleet is back here and we go hunting pirates they will have plenty of opportunities to get some experience."

After a short walk they reached the CIC and he found himself watching the crew handling their day to day work, it was remarkable how much the ship operated like her predecessor.

_The more things change the more they stay the same._

"Admiral Moore we have an incoming call marked urgent from Fort Constantine, do you want take it?"

"I'll answer it in the com room lieutenant, in the meantime Robert you can tell the captain that his ship passed the inspection." Carrington turned around and directly headed to an officer who was waiting near the galaxy map.

The com room itself was separated from the bridge by thick walls granting the person inside a private and secure place for communication, when the doors closed behind him all the sound from a crowded ship cut off instantly. He pressed a few buttons at the console revealing a VI that addressed him in a monotone voice.

_"You have one waiting call transferred through Fort Constantine, caller has been identified as Migrant fleet."_ After she finished the VI stared blankly at him waiting for further instructions.

"Go ahead, I'm waiting." His mood improved immediately, there was only one person in the Migrant fleet that had his contact information. A smile crept up his face when he thought back to the day he'd first met her.

The sixth fleet had just saved a quarian scout ship that had been jumped by a pirate flotilla, it was the first time an Alliance fleet encountered vessels from the Migrant fleet directly so he extended an invitation hoping to find out more about the mysterious race.

The quarian fleet commander introduced herself as Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay and they had a long conversation that lasted for several hours about their people's history and culture. Afterwards he was sad to see her leave, she was quite an interesting figure.

_"Finally, you know Tom it isn't nice to keep a woman waiting."_ Raan said with a wink to him.

He laughed back at her with an apologizing smile. "Good to see you to Shala. How are you, still waging intense political battles with the other admirals?"

_"More like trying to keep them from killing each other every time they are in the same room. What about the Alliance, still ensuring that the galaxy is safe?"_

"Most of the time we do when I'm not being stonewalled by high command." She was one of the few people he could vent his frustrations to from time to time. "But I take it you didn't call to hear me complaining, so how can I help you?"

_"For a change of pace I'm going to help you."_ She smiled at the puzzled look that appeared on his face.

In the following 20 minutes Raan explained what the Migrant fleet had discovered in the aftermath of an assault on a pirate frigate. Data that proved an impending invasion would strike an Alliance colony somewhere in the near future. He listened quietly during her story, not interrupting a single time while he processed the information. If what she was telling was true and he didn't doubt it then the Alliance would be caught completely off guard. He would have to act fast in order to give the colonies time to prepare themselves.

"Do you have any idea which colony they are planning to target?"

_"Most of the data was corrupted, we were lucky to retrieve this much information. Unfortunately the name of the colony was lost to us, which one they will attack is anyone's guess."_ She bowed her head slightly and nervously started to fidget with her hands. _"I'm sorry Tom, I wish we could've helped you more."_

"Thanks to you we have a chance to warn our colonies and prepare defenses to welcome those criminals. Trust me when I say that you couldn't have done more to help us." He saw how she cheered up right away.

_"You always succeed in making people feel better about themselves don't you?"_

He shrugged his shoulders before answering. "Come's with the job, can't lead an entire fleet without showing some empathy to the people under your command."

_"I've got to go now but it was good to talk to you again, take care of yourself okay?"_

"You know when all this is over would you have time to visit Elysium? I can recommend an excellent tour guide to show you around, one who'd love to tear himself away from his work for a single day." It was hard to see through her mask but he could swear that she was blushing.

_"I'll think about it, goodbye Tom."_

"Goodbye Shala and thanks for the information". After her image disappeared it was immediately replaced by the VI.

"VI transfer the received data to an OSD, then contact the SSV Gold Beach and tell her captain to prepare for departure asap." The VI confirmed his orders and he went back to the CIC looking for his Carrington. He found him talking to the captain of the Iwo Jima who looked more relaxed now.

"Robert I need to have a word with you in private." The captain snapped off a salute to them as he left.

"So how do you feel about going on a short trip to Arcturus station?" After telling what he had learned from Raan, Moore layed out his plan.

"I'm going to raise the state of alertness of our forces on Elysium and see if I can find a way to improve our defenses. You need to deliver this OSD in person to Alliance intelligence. Tell them to send a warning to every Alliance colony, if they're stonewalling you tell them I'll vouch for the information. Then contact the sixth fleet on Earth, cancel all repairs except the most critical ones, they are to return to Elysium asap. I'll feel a lot safer when the fleet is here, should the pirates attack Elysium." He shook his friend's hand before giving him the OSD.

"The Gold Beach is waiting for you Robert, good luck."

"Thank you admiral, I won't let you down."

"And pray to God that we aren't too late." He spoke to himself.

* * *

_Interrogation room 21A – Fort Constantine - Elysium_

"For the last time I'm not a spy and I don't want to sabotage anything! All I wanted to do was play a prank on sergeant Shepard. We are family, you can ask him." Jane was starting to lose her patience with her interrogator, an MP without a sense of humor who she'd been stuck with for several hours.

The day had begun so well since most of her classes were on hold for the time being. At first she planned to go with her friends to the city but a call from her aunt changed that. She told her that they would be having a family meal in Illyria and that even John would be there. She knew that her nephew was stationed at Fort Constantine and planned to surprise him before their little family reunion took place. Getting inside the base itself was easy and she had almost made it inside the barracks area when a rocket drone spotted her. Evading it wasn't difficult but in her haste she had completely forgotten that those things usually travel in packs.

She tried to explain what she was doing there to the MP who detained her to no avail, if aunt Hannah found out where her niece was now Elysium would be too small to hide from her. Jane's only hope now was that John would come riding in like a knight in shining armor, something she knew he loved to do every chance he got.

"I've informed the sergeant of your presence here miss and he's on his way but if he doesn't recognize you, well ... then you are in serious trouble." He grabbed his files and headed out of the room leaving her alone.

She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling, waiting for John. In the years that followed after Mindoir he had always been there for her, even more so than her aunt and uncle. Listening to her when she thought back to the happier times with her parents and offering support when memories of what happened to them came back. She had once told him as a joke that if he should ever get bored of the military he'd make an outstanding councilor.

The door to the room slowly opened and in came a familiar figure who was on the brink of bursting out in laugher.

"When I heard of a red haired spy being chased by the entire garrison, I just had to see her myself." He walked around the table and gave her a quick hug. "Next time let me know that you're coming by okay?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise but you can see how it all worked out." She mumbled when he let go of her.

"You haven't forgotten where we should be right now did you?" She glanced a fast look at her omni-tool when he said that. Her aunt wasn't the kind of person to keep waiting.

"Great she's going to kill me." She started to follow him outside when she realized something. "Uhmm John you're not going to tell her where I was are you?"

He spun around to face her with a huge mischievous smirk. "Maybe I will or maybe I won't. I'll think about it on the way there."

The restaurant that was their destination was located amidst the huge skyscrapers that dominated downtown Illyria. John was sitting next to her, flying the sky car while occasionally pointing out several landmarks. She had to admit that of all the planets she had been to this one certainly was the most diverse and active one.

When they entered the restaurant captain Hannah Shepard was already there, as always in full navy uniform. Jane rarely saw her aunt in anything else after her uncle passed away, a loss that had affected them all in different ways.

"Well this explains why you two are so late, couldn't wait to see him huh Jane?" The frown on her face was replaced with a smile as she hugged both Jane and John.

After she released them from her hug they all took their seats and ordered their meal. While they were eating both John and her aunt shared their experiences with each other, Jane on the other hand stayed silent for the most part. She simply enjoyed to have her only family near her for the first time in several months.

Jane looked up from her pizza when they both stopped talking, instead watching how an Alliance shuttle landed on a nearby landing pad. The Alliance insignia on the shuttle had golden stars instead of blue ones indicating that it carried an Admiral. The moment the shuttle's engines died down Moore jumped outside and started walking towards the restaurant with a brisk pace.

"Moore this is unexpected if I'd known you would join us I would've ordered something for you as well." Hannah spoke when Moore reached their table.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your meal Hannah, something important has come up. You have to return to your ship immediately and prepare the task group for action." She was about to ask why when John voiced his concern.

"Is something wrong Admiral?"

"We're getting signals from different sources that the pirates are planning a raid on one of our colonies. It seems unlikely that they will attack Elysium but you know the saying Shepard. Better safe than sorry." He opened up his omni-tool and started to tap in several commands.

"You better round up your unit, should anyone ask questions the official statement is that we're having a military exercise."

"Right away Sir." He was almost outside when he yelled something loud enough for everyone to hear."Stay out of trouble next time Jane!"

"What did he mean by that?" Her aunts eyes narrowed while she waited for an answer.

_Damm you John, I'm going to get you back for this._

* * *

_UT-47 Kodiak – Illyria outskirts – Elysium_

"Are you alright kiddo, you've been quiet for a long time now?"

She nodded to Moore but kept watching the snow covered mountains surrounding Illyria gliding by while the shuttle made its way out of the city. After an extremely awkward conversation, her aunt had decided to send her back to school. To make sure that her niece wouldn't sneak back to the city she'd asked Moore if he could see to it that she would arrive there safely.

_Everybody I know is having a good time and I can't be there. _Her friends would no doubt let her hear it when they came back.

At least the company was nice for the moment, to his credit the admiral never judged her because of her actions. The only thing he asked in return was that she didn't lie to him when he asked about them.

"Don't worry about your aunt, give it a few days and it will all blow over." He chuckled softly. "You aren't the first one who had to bear her wrath."

"Really, care to give some examples?" Teasing him was always fun to pass the time.

"Sorry, most of that is classified military information but I … ." She never found out what he wanted to say when an explosion caused the shuttle to shake violently. Only the safety harnesses kept them from falling out of their seats as the Kodiak lost altitude rapidly.

"What the hell is going on Hopkins!" Moore had to yell over the noise to make himself clear.

The pilot's panicked voice was barely understandable "I don't know Sir, we've lost all power to the engines! Prepare yourself for impact, I can't hold her steady much longer!"

Both Moore and Jane grabbed their safety harnesses firmly while the Kodiak made a hard dive towards the ground. At the last possible moment the pilot was able to pull the shuttle out of its deathly dive but the ground had already come to close. The Kodiak drilled itself into the hard forest floor, sliding several meters further before finally coming to a rest in a small forest clearing. Smoke soon came from the wreckage, slowly drifting upwards.

Nobody had seen the shuttle crash except for two mercenaries, standing on a ridge overlooking the dense forest. The merc leader didn't believe that anyone would survive such a crash but his clients orders were clear, ensure there wouldn't be any survivors.

"Let's move." He spoke to his partner.


	5. From bad to worse

**Chapter 5: From bad to worse**

_UT-47 Kodiak crash site – Illyria outskirts – Elysium_

The first thing Jane could feel was intense pain spreading across her entire body. She slowly opened her eyes to the sight of flashing emergency lighting. Realizing that she was laying on the floor of a shuttle startled her. At first it didn't sink in what had caused this but then it all started to come back. Her talking with Moore followed by a loud explosion that caused them to crash.

She could faintly see another person laying on the floor near, that had to be Moore. As she slowly crawled closer the sound of him breathing reached her, at least he was still alive.

"Moore can you hear me, are you alright!" She began to look for wounds while trying to wake him up. Aside from a head wound there wasn't much else she could find. By now her voice had woken up Moore and he slowly tried to stand up.

"I have to say that not every landing is like this, you just picked a wrong day to fly along." Moore's laugh was cut short when he grunted in pain. "Okay it might be a little early for jokes."

"Do you feel alright?"

"Don't worry about me kiddo, I've been in worse conditions than this." He rubbed one of his hands over his neck." More importantly, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine but what happened, were we shot down by someone?"

"Highly unlikely, you'd have to be a crack shot to take down a moving shuttle on the height we were. No, either this was an accident or we are talking about sabotage." He pondered about this for a moment giving Jane time to examine herself. Fortunately for her the worst damage were a couple of bruises, might hurt for a while but wouldn't be fatal.

"I want you to go outside, get an idea of where we crashed." He kicked open the side door of the shuttle. After looking around for sings of danger he pointed to a nearby tree. "If you can get up there you'll have a bird's eye view of the entire area. You're also going to need this in case we were actually attacked." He pulled out his sidearm and held it out for her to take.

"Do you really think that will be necessary?" She took the gun in her hands and glanced over it.

"I wouldn't give this to you otherwise, now get moving. I'm going to check on Hopkins, if you need me just yell okay." He disappeared into the shuttle leaving her alone.

She surveyed her surroundings for a minute, realizing how lucky they had been to have survived the crash. The shuttle had come to rest in a small clearing instead of crashing into the trees, each of those juggernauts would have been able to cut their shuttle in half.

She shook her head at the thought while walking towards a nearby tree, holstering her sidearm before climbing it. Reaching the peak wasn't to difficult for her, when she lived on Mindoir she'd spend days climbing in trees to watch the sunset or hiding from her parents when she was in trouble.

From her posistion she could see the mountains surrounding Illyria and the main bridge that connected the capital to the outlying communities. The only thing that seemed strange to her was the amount of traffic on it, a large stream of people and military vehicles. In the restaurant she had overheard Moore and John talking about a military exercise, maybe those troops were part of that?

Jane started to leave her vantage point when she heard two voices arguing quietly beneath her. She was about to greet them but stopped when one of the men mentioned their shuttle. She descended a few branches lower until she could hear better what they were saying.

"Over there boss, I've found the shuttle! It seems mostly intact though, what if those people are still alive?" She held her breath when the second voice answered.

"Then we'll have to put them out of their misery, keep walking." Both men entered the clearing with their weapons drawn, not spotting how a figure dropped down from the tree behind them.

Hopkins didn't make it, Moore tried searching for a pulse but sadly didn't find one. The impact of the ground had been fatal to his pilot. He took one of the dog tags and picked up a nearby shotgun, his pilot wouldn't need it anymore.

He was about to step outside when a merc jumped in the shuttle. Both men were surprised to see each other but Moore reacted faster than his opponent. The shotgun slugs impacted the man at close range, causing him to fly outside again.

"What are you doing here?" He yelled while cautiously approaching the downed merc, who was by now screaming in pain.

"Searching for you." A rifle butt hit the back of his head causing him to fall to ground, for a moment the entire world was spinning while the man leaned over him.

"Who are you?" Moore tried reaching for his shotgun but saw it lying in the grass a short distance away from him. He could only hope that Jane had been smart enough to look for help. Last thing he wanted was her in this mess as well.

The batarian merc leader enjoyed the moment for a while before, grinning widely. "Who I am is not important Admiral, I'm just a guy hired to finish a job. Speaking of which, the flight log shows three passengers. I'm assuming that your pilot didn't make it?" He nodded towards the front of the shuttle that was a mangled mess of metal.

"So that leaves just one person unaccounted for. Care to explain where she is?"

He clenched his teeth together, refusing to reveal anything to this low life. His interrogator didn't appreciated the resistance, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Have it your way then, this forest isn't big enough for her to hide anyway." Without warning the merc's shield shattered and a large bullet wound appeared on his chest. With a shocked face he slowly dropped face first on the ground.

_What did I just do? _

It all happened so fast, one minute she was sneaking up behind them, the next she killed someone. Jane lowered the pistol when Moore walked up to her, she still couldn't fully comprehend what just had happened.

"Jane listen to me!" Moore took her by the shoulders and made her face him. "You just saved my life, you did nothing wrong."

"I.. I killed someone Moore, what does that say about me?"

"That you are a good person, if you hadn't shot him he would have killed me and then you." He released her and took a step back. "I'm going to see if that wounded merc knows something useful, take a moment for yourself okay kiddo?"

"Thanks, I will."

She was about to follow his advice when a shining object in the grass caught her attention. It was a data pad that was still active, probably belonged to one of the men send to kill them. Curiously she began searching for anything important, most of the information on it was encrypted though. Just when she was about to give up she spotted a small insignia on the back of it.

_No this must be some kind of mistake, what reason would they have to be on Elysium?_

She hurried to copy the information to her omni-tool, not an easy task considering her hands were trembling with anger. She had only seen this insignia one time, six years ago on Mindoir. The day she had lost her parents and any chance of a quiet life.

"For the last time who hired you, why were you here to kill us?" The batarian began to laugh hysterically at his questions. Moore knew that the man didn't have much time left but it was hard to feel any kind of pitty for him.

"Don't you get it human, you and this entire colony are doomed. Nobody can stop it from happening now!" Before Moore could ask what he meant by that the batarian stopped breathing and laughing all together.

"Moore I've found something, maybe it will help?"

He picked up the deceased merc's rifle and accepted the data pad Jane handed to him. Most of the information was encrypted, another dead end. Whatever was on it would have to wait until they reached civilization.

With the emergency transponder disabled all communication with the Alliance military was cut off. Sending a message with his omni-tool didn't work either, he suspected there was a jammer of some kind in the area. Likely placed by the mercenaries in case their targets escaped.

"What are we going to do? Should we wait for help?" She tried to conceal the fear in her voice but Moore could see right through it.

"Hey don't worry, we'll be fine. Why don't you tell me what you found out about the area." His words had a positive impact on the young teenager, who gave a very detailed report.

After making a last round to search for supplies they headed of in the direction where Jane had seen the bridge. While he walked behind her through the forest he kept worrying about the batarian last words. In the back of mind he already knew what the man had meant. Elysium was the target of their invasion.

He smiled briefly. Thanks to Raan the Alliance would have a fighting chance to hold the colony. If those thugs thought their invasion plan would succeed, they had another thing coming.

* * *

_Red Giant Bar – Downtown Illyria – Elysium_

Getting from the restaurant to the bar where Marshall and Ramirez where at took longer than expected, mostly due to his wise choice to go on foot. Wouldn't be long before he would find himself on a starship again. All the more reason to enjoy the open air when he still could.

While walking down the streets he could see Alliance convoys moving nonstop through the capital to their staging areas. MP officers positioned at each intersection ensured they didn't have any trouble getting there. The colonists around him could only moderately appreciate this, talking about abuse of authority just for a simple exercise. He suppressed himself from telling them the truth, most people could only handle so much.

When Shepard entered the bar warm music welcomed him, he recognized the song playing but couldn't remember the name. He hummed it to himself while searching for his friends.

He spotted them sitting in a booth at the back of the bar, having an animated discussion. Shoving himself politely through the crowd he arrived in front of their table, just in time to hear the last part of their conversation.

"Hey! I'm not that bad of a dancer, besides you promised rich girl."

"I honestly can't remember that. Are you sure?" Rachel replied teasingly.

"So I turn my back for one minute and the two of you are already having a date?" Lee almost choked on his drink when he heard him. Rachel just chuckled at his question.

"This isn't a date Shepard, that reporter you told about invited us to this place. Wanted to ask some questions in a more relaxing environment, he even offered to pay for our drinks."

Lee chipped in. "Besides you do know the rules concerning fraternization don't you Shepard."

"Most important rule is don't get caught." Shaw answered in his place stepping up beside him.

"Speaking from experience?" He replied while accepting one of the beers the reporter held out.

"It all worked out for me, I'm still married to her." He showed his ring finger to everyone while taking another sip from his beer. "So Shepard why is the Alliance all of the sudden so active? The official line may fool the colonists but I wasn't born yesterday."

"I have no idea at what you're implying. It is just a training exercise, nothing more." He took to a seat next to Lee while the reporter seated himself opposite of him. "This is the last drink people, make the most of your time before we need to get back to Constantine."

Being sure that Shepard was done speaking Shaw took the opportunity to launch an assault of questions on Lee. The soldier seemed flattered to be the center of attention, answering all questions without hesitation and his usual humor. Both Shepard and Rachel were listening amused to the pair.

Lee suddenly stopped talking midsentence and leaned over to him. "Shepard, four armed batarians walk into a bar."

He sighted shortly. "Okay and then what?"

"See for yourself, I'm not joking. They're standing by the doorway."

When Shepard peaked over his shoulder, he could see the batarians Lee was talking about. They didn't seem to be colonists or part of the local militia judging from their armor and weapons. He knew something was terribly wrong when their leader gave a signal to his men, who immediately raised their weapons.

"Everyone, get down!" Time seemed to slow down as he tipped over the table providing them with cover. Lee and Rachel were faster to respond than Shaw who was pulled down by Shepard.

He realized it wasn't a moment too soon when bullets started to impact the wall behind them. Most of the people in the bar weren't so lucky, a few managed to find cover or escaped through the backdoor.

Shepard fired several rounds at the batarians, who scrambled for cover while maintaining fire. He managed to hit some of them yet the rounds didn't damage a single one. He cursed to himself when he saw the blue shimmering.

"They have kinetic barriers!" Lee yelled while ducking behind cover.

Shepard kept up a steady stream of fire helped by his friends who joined the fighting, preventing the batarians to advance on them. For now they were in a stalemate, his opponents couldn't get to him but this also applied to his team.

As he searched for a way out he kept wondering what the hell was going on.

* * *

_Central Mainframe – Fort Constantine – Elysium_

Getting clearance to acces the central mainframe had proven to be more difficult than originally intended. He had spend days on trying to find a way to get inside the secure basement floor. High tech cameras and armed soldiers made up the bulk of defenses the Alliance had put in place.

Recently however most of the guards had been called away to participate in what the Alliance had described as a general exercise for all armed forces on the planet. He knew better though. Like he had told his sponsors you simply couldn't hide all the preparations for the upcoming invasion.

The long hallway he was in had dozens of cameras tracking his every move. He laughed to himself when he saw them, before coming down here he had visisted the security control room. Unfortunately for the Alliance there wouldn't be any visual prove of him for the next coming hours.

Upon reaching his destination he encountered one final obstacle. A young soldier who jumped to attention at the sight of him.

"I'm sorry sir, this is a highly restricted area. Without proper clearance you can't proceed further."

"I'm aware of that but I must have left it upstairs. Do you really want me to go get it?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just doing my job sir, please come back when you have it on you."

"You are right to carry out your duties private, a good soldier always does. Which makes what I'm about to do even more difficult."

"Sir?" The private asked in confusion.

When it was done he wiped the blood on the knife off on his victims uniform. He didn't like to get his hands dirty, most of the time he simply relied on others to do it for him.

Using the forged passcard he finaly got inside the room, wich was dark and humming with the sound of active servers. He hit the lightswitch on, still searching for more defense his superiors could have placed here. Upon making sure there weren't anymore, he began to upload the virus into the Alliance databases. He had been told that the virus would remain dormant until the invasion fleet entered the system. Then it would shut down all defense systems the Alliance possesed.

The delaying actions he had arranged for would hamper any discovery of the computervirus. One of them was the assassination of Admiral Moore, his death would cause irrepairable damage to the military leadership on Elysium.

The other one was a large uprising of mercenaries in every district of Illyria, with orders to seize control of the districts and await reinforcements by the invasion force. He didn't expect them to succeed in this but the mercenaries would at least keep the Alliance busy for the time being.

He was concerned about one thing though. The mercenaries he'd send to kill Moore hadn't reported in yet. He would have to take matters into his own hands in case they had failed. Competent people were hard to find these days.

With the upload finished he hurriedly left the central mainframe, the invasion would start in a few hours. He knew that Fort Constantine was a prime target when the orbital bombardment would commence.

_All the more reason to find a safer place to hide out until the storm lies down._

* * *

A shoutout to BlueSpartan107 who is a steady reviewer, be sure to check out the current story he is working on (**Mass Effect: Resolution)**.

As always if you want to let me know something regarding the story, leave a review or send a PM.

Admiral Anderson


	6. In search of answers

**Chapter 6: In search of answers**

_Red Giant Bar – Downtown Illyria – Elysium_

"Why on Earth don't you have grenades on you?"

"Because I don't plan on getting in a firefight while I'm enjoying a drink." Rachel replied sarcastically to Lee.

"Can it you two, let's concentrate on getting out of here!" Shepard peaked over the table only to be rewarded by a burst of bullets aimed at his head. He blind fired a few rounds at the attackers, judging from the curses several shots found a target.

Still he knew it wouldn't be enough, they could simply drop down, wait for their barriers to recharge before attacking again. Sooner or later the people who he assumed to be mercenaries would just rush his position, with only three soldiers firing pistols to stop them. He let out a sigh, somehow trouble always seemed to find him.

Shepard's eyes ran over his small team, Lee and Rachel were firing in tandem at the attackers. While one cooled down their pistol, the other provided cover fire, a tactic that for now kept the mercs at bay. Shaw on the other hand had found something else to keep himself occupied. While gunfire was all around him, the reporter was casually reporting the event crouched in front of Nuke. If he hadn't known for a fact that Shaw had served in the Alliance, he would've thought the guy was insane staying so calm while being shot at.

Shepard fired a few shots again while thinking back to a previous conversation between them. _What did he say about that drone, good to have during a fight? _He motioned for Shaw to stop interviewing himself which got him an irritated look. With Nuke in tow he slowly closed the distance between them.

"What is the problem Shepard, aside from those idiots trying to kill everyone?"

"I've got a plan to deal with them with some help from your side. Were you kidding yesterday about the usefulness of the drone?"

"No! It has upgraded shields and weapons combined with a superior target system, I even build in a cloaking device that will make … ."

"The only thing I want to know is can it help us?" He managed to say through his tech talk.

"Without a doubt. What do you want Nuke to pull off?"

"To disable their shields for a short period. Assuming that works my squad will take care of the mercs."

"I'll see what I can do, give me a minute." After a brief moment of working on his omni-tool Shaw gave the thumbs up to him. With the cloaking device activated one would have to look really hard in order to notice Nuke.

Shepard crawled back to his makeshift cover which was deteriorating rapidly. As he watched the ceiling, he could faintly see a small form moving towards the mercs.

"Where have you been? You're missing all the fun! Lee gave him a shove against the shoulder waiting for an answer.

"Working on getting us out of here in one piece. Be ready to move on my signal."

"Hey guys! Mind lending me a hand here? I think they're done sitting around!"

As on call the mercs jumped up and began to advance on them, moving from cover to cover. All the time laying down a murderous barrage of fire.

_Come on Shaw, we don't have much time left._

With only a small open space remaining, the mercs decided to make a headlong charge at his position. He cursed to himself for putting faith in a flying garbage can, why didn't he come up with something better?

Suddenly every merc stopped running abruptly as a surge of energy struck down and overloaded their shields. Shepard knew it was now or never.

"NOW!" Without hesitation he opened fire joined by both Rachel and Lee. The mercs still confused, desperately tried to return fire. Out in the open however, with no shields none of them stood a chance. One by one they began falling towards the floor.

With the last opponent down he shifted his attention back to his unit. Both Lee and Shaw were okay, the last one already standing in front of his drone, excitedly reporting the event to his galactic audience.

His brief relief evaporated when he saw Rachel sitting against a nearby wall clutching a wounded arm. Shepard crouched down on one knee in front of her to take a closer look at it.

"Are you alright?"

"Nothing some medi-gel can't fix, one of them must have been lucky enough to hit me. Don't worry Shepard, this isn't the first time I got hurt. Hell I've gotten worse during training." She forced herself to put up a brave smile.

"Shepard, you need to see this." He looked up and saw Lee standing over the body of a merc.

"Take it easy for a minute, we'll be out of here in no time." Leaving Rachel, he carefully made his way through the devastation left in the wake of the brazen attack on the bar. Shaking his head when he realized how many colonists didn't make it.

"What did you find?"

"A mission brief about you in fact, listen to this." Lee coughed shortly and used his best narrator voice as he read it out loud.

"Primary mission is the elimination of sergeant John Shepard, Alliance Eighth Marine division. Warning subject is considered highly dangerous, approach with extreme caution. Payment will be transferred once Shepard's death has been confirmed."

He paused for a dramatic effect before reading on.

"Secondary objective is the elimination of corporal's Lee Marshall and Rachel Ramirez. Danger should be negligible." Lee rolled his eyes as he handed the data pad to Shepard.

"Their boss didn't think to highly of us, have to say I'm slightly disappointed. Why are you on top of the hit list instead of me?"

He chuckled silently at Lee's faked anger. "Well I'm higher in rank than you, only fair I get the honor of being first." Shepard could hear him making a sarcastic sound while he inspected the data pad for himself.

A grim thought bothered him while going over it. _So everyone that died in here today had the misfortune of being where I was?_ Shepard felt nothing but contempt as he looked at the downed merc, at least he got what was coming to him.

"I'm getting an incoming transmission from Kahoku, can't imagine what he's going to … Shepard are you listening?" Lee asked with concern in his voice.

"Yes, was just thinking about those we lost today." He turned away from the merc to face Lee. "I'll talk to the captain, see if he knows what's going on all of the sudden."

"I'll check up on Rachel while you're doing that, see if she requires some more medical attention."

"Try to stay nice to each other, I don't know how much medi-gel we have left." He replied with a smirk.

Lee gave a guffaw as he headed to the other side of the bar in search of her. Shepard watched him going for a bit before opening his omni-tool. Soon after Kahoku's face appeared on the small screen.

"Shepard, are you receiving me?" He spoke through the static.

"Barely sir, I'm getting a large amount of interference on this channel."

"Our tech experts are working on restoring communications but they tell me it's going to take some time. Whoever attacked us did so after destroying or occupying most of our communication hubs. What is your status?"

"I was ambushed along with two of my soldiers and Shaw in a bar by mercenaries. We have one wounded but all hostiles are neutralized. Is there any intel on the attackers yet?"

"Not much. They appeared out of nowhere and started assaulting our forces, targeting military and civilian personnel. We are convinced though most of them are freelance mercenary groups of various origins. What we've gathered from intercepted messages suggests that they are waiting for something."

"Admiral Moore was convinced the pirates were planning to raid one of our colonies. This activity could be linked to his warning. What does he think about this?"

"Shepard, I didn't know how tell this you sooner." Kahoku put his hands together as he looked him straight in the eyes.

"We've lost contact with Moore's shuttle over an hour ago. There has been no response to our messages, we know very little regarding the status of Moore and your niece. I'm sorry Shepard."

From all the things Shepard had expected to hear, this one wasn't among them. He had trouble digesting the news, this just didn't make any sense. He struggled to find words while horrific scenarios crossed his mind of what could be happening to Jane and Moore right now.

"I have to go and find them sir! I can't just sit back and wait for more news! Do we have the shuttle's last known coordinates?"

"Calm down sergeant!" Kahoku's hard tone cut any further questions off.

"I've already sent the rest of your squad to the crash site, they will handle it. Your skills are needed for a different mission, so you have to remain focused."

"Those skills can be of more use to rescue Moore and Jane! What could be more important than that?" Shepard wasn't ready to let this go just yet.

"Sergeant, do you trust the people you have trained?"

"Of course I do, what does that have to do with this?" He replied sharply.

"Everything. Have faith that your men will find them." Kahoku watched Shepard process his words as he spoke on. "Before they left I told them that it was a volunteer mission, they weren't ordered to go and could refuse. Not a single soldier backed down."

Shepard smirked when he heard Kahoku say those words. That seemed like the people he had served with since basic training alright. If it had been one of his men whose relatives were lost out there, his reaction would have been the same. He was still conviced he should go but a part of him knew the captain was right. As much as he hated to admit it he was needed here. That didn't mean he should like the situation.

"Thank you sir."

"Your welcome Shepard. I'll have them contact you when they find them. For now, gather your unit and head to Tower 1 on Police Plaza. I'll meet you there with a supply cache of weapons and armor. We'll be needing it."

"What are we going to do?"

Judging by the shaking screen, Kahoku was walking down a corridor. "Something easy for a change. How do you feel about guard detail?"

* * *

_Near General Williams Memorial bridge - Illyria outskirts – Elysium_

They had been walking for a long while now after leaving the crash site. Thanks to Jane, finding the road didn't prove to difficult. He could already see the bridge ahead of them. Moore wiped the sweat of his forehead as he drank from his water canteen. The treeline provided some shadow from the sun but temperatures were steadily climbing.

_Almost empty, terrific. This just keeps getting better and better. _He decided to ignore his current dehydration concerns. A small voice inside his head rightfully pointed out he had larger worries. One of them was walking a small distance ahead of him. Jane hadn't spoken a word since leaving the crash site. Moore knew what had happened was still to fresh to her. Soldiers like him were trained to cope with such things.

_But she is just a teenager! One that had seen far to much death in her life, more than someone of her age should have to deal with. _Not speaking about it wasn't the answer.

"Jane, do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" Her cautiouse voice made him second guess if he was doing the right thing.

"About what happened to the merc, I know it couldn't have been easy." Moore almost walked into her as she abruptly stopped and turned around to face him.

"Well it was easy! Do you want to know why?" Not waiting for him to answer she yelled on. "I only had to think back to what happened on Mindoir! About what they did to my parents! To all the families that lived there! That merc deserved what happened to him. Why should I feel bad about that?" She defiantly finished.

"Because you're only human, because taking someone's life is never easy. With good reason."

"I made a promise to myself after the funeral. To stop anyone that tried to hurt the people I care about for good. So no, I don't feel any remorse of stopping that merc and certainly won't lose any sleep over it." She declared.

"Are you really convinced that your mom and dad would approve of that?"

Jane slowly turned her face towards him. Tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes as her voice broke.

"That is something I will never know."

Not giving him time to respond she turned around again, moving at a faster pace then before. _Nicely done old man, you blew it big time. _He decided to let the topic rest for the time being.

While crossing the bridge he was taken aback by the complete lack of security. Normally several platoons would keep watch over it, yet there wasn't any sign of them. He did notice two asari officers behind a squad car that blocked the other side.

"Hold it right there you two, that is close enough!" One the cops raised her shotgun at them. She then slowly approached him and Jane with her partner in tow.

The other officer frowned as she stopped in front of him and Jane. Not suprising giving the state they were in. His entire uniform was covered in dirt and torn in several places. Jane had faired slightly better, only small patches of her outfit had dust on it.

"I'm sorry, you have to go back the way you came from. The bridge is sealed off to civilians."

"Goddess." The other cop saluted him. "You are speaking to an Alliance Admiral idiot!" She hissed to her partner who then lowered her shotgun.

"Didn't know I was so famous on Elysium." He chuckled with a wink to Jane.

"My husband serves on the sixth fleet admiral, that's how I know of you. I'm sergeant Ayara and my partner is officer Dayla. If you don't me asking sir, what happened to you and the girl?" She asked while glancing between them.

"That is a long story, short version is that we were in a shuttle crash. We will need a transport to Fort Constantine. I was hoping you could help me with that." Both asari exchanged worried looks between each other.

"It isn't safe to travel to the capital sir, the fighting has gotten worse over the past few hours."

"Fighting, what are you talking about?" He asked in confusion.

"You didn't know? Martial law has been initiated in all setlements on Elysium after mercenaries struck Illyria. We were told to block all civilian trafic untill further notice."

"Get me a working comm unit, it is imperative I get into contact with the Alliance."

"Right away sir, follow me to our outpost."

* * *

_Police HQ – Downtown Illyria – Elysium_

When the elevator doors opened, Shepard followed Kahoku to the conference room at the end the hallway. The precint was a hive of activity with officers running around in every direction. He could tell that they were tasked to capacity, trying to deal with the mercs and restore order at the same time.

"Let me get this straight sarge, we are picking up a prisoner who claims to have vital information he didn't want to share with the police? How can we tell he's speaking the truth?"

"I see no harm in finding out, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He claims to know who started this whole mess, don't you want to know who is behind this Rachel?"

"I'm just saying we should be carefull with someone who's selling out his own people. You can't trust such a person." She stopped talking when an officer approached them.

"Captain Kahoku, as requested my men have brought the prisoner to the conference room."

"Thank you Gordon, time to learn if he's got something useful to tell us."

"I'll be in the crisis room coordinating my officers. Come find me before you leave." Gordon entered another room filled with the sound of people discussing with each other.

"Old friend sir?"

"You could say that Shepard. Before becoming chief of police, Gordon was an Alliance major. Fought under his command in the First contact war, he is a terrific leader and soldier."

"If you don't mind captain, I'm going to see if I can dig up some stories from the cops. I'll be back before you know it." Before Kahoku could protest Shaw disappeared in the sea of people that walked around them.

"Strange guy that one." Kahoku shook his head in amusement. "You two guard the door, this wont take long. Come on Shepard, let's get this over with"

There was only one other person in the conference room when they came in. A white skinned human with black hair, wearing the armor of the Blue Suns company. He had an almost bored posture as he took a chair at the long table.

"At last, was beginning to think the Alliance wasn't interested in me."

"We haven't forgotten about you Snow or the crimes you committed against the Alliance. My superiors told me to offer immunity for your cooperation. All criminal records will be deleted and you can live the rest of your life in anonymity."

"In case you decide to lie against us, I've also been authorized to put you in the darkest hellhole the Alliance can find for you." Kahoku added threateningly.

Snow's triumphant smirk vanished at that last part.

"Sergeant Shepard and myself will interrogate you. Afterwards you'll get a free ride to Constantine."

"Fort Constantine, are you serious? That's the first place he'll start looking for me! No, I'm staying right here until I get off world otherwise the deal is off the table!"

The fear in Snow's eyes was hard to miss for Shepard. _Who can cause such fear in a battle hardened merc?_

"Who is this person you're so afraid of?"

"I don't know his real name, he always used a codename for himself. Safer for him that way. Less chance of exposure to outside parties. I only know him as the Shark."

Shepard exchanged eyecontact with Kahoku, seeing the same disbelief he had.

"The Shark, you're joking right. This isn't some B-rated spy movie." He countered.

"I didn't come up with it, if he wants to be dramatic then so be it. Do you want to hear the rest of it or not?"

Shepard made a short move on motion with his hands, trying to suppress his growing frustration. _Wonder what he will come up with next?_

"I've worked for him as a middle man for over five years, carrying out orders and taking his money. He is directly responsible for raids on dozens of Alliance colonies. Here is an example. Did you really think pirates showed up purely out of coincidence when Mindoir wasn't protected for a short period."

"What are you saying?"

"Do you want me to draw it out for you captain? The Shark works for the Alliance, he was right under your noses the whole time."

"That's a damming accusation, what prove do you have?"

"Files straight from the heart of Alliance intelligence, enough to start a library if I wanted to. Also a few audio recordings when I had contact with him, smart bastard altered his voice but left enough clues for me to guess that he is Alliance military."

"Why did you leave him then? What changed?"

"He's become rash and cocky over the years Shepard, always pursuing larger and better paying clients. Recently he's offered his services to Terminus pirates linked to the Batarian Hegemony. I only got a short insight into their plans but that was enough for me to get the hell outta dodge."

"What did you find?"

Snow left his chair, casually walking to the large office window. He observed the skyline of Illyria as he answered Kahoku's question.

"This diamond of the Petra Nebula as the media calls it has been a thorn in the batarians expansion plans for many years. The Terminus pirates they hired aren't going to launch a simple raid here, no it will be a full blown war."

This was the first time during the meeting that Shepard felt the man was telling the truth. Moore had received similar information from the Migrant fleet and prepared accordingly. Snow's information backed up the Admirals decision.

"You can't possibly think that they will succeed with their invasion. Elysium is the largest colony we have, the pirates might bite off more than they can chew."

"Underestimating your opponent, a flaw many men seem to make in this age. You should know better Shepard." Snow gave a nod with head, towards the chaos on the streets.

"The Shark acts like a chess player, always thinking ten moves ahead of you. He's got the Alliance immobilized fighting mercenaries, he even disrupted your communications with the fleet. All his pieces are already in position on the board, waiting for the chance to strike."

"Oh really, what happens then?"

Snow turned away from the window with an evil grin, facing Shepard and Kahoku.

"Checkmate."

* * *

**Alliance codex**

**General Williams Memorial bridge: **Named in honor of General Williams, commanding officer of the Shanxi garrison during the First Contact War. He employed daring and bold tactics during the first days of the invasion in order to defeat the Turian invaders. His garrison was ultimately outmatched by superior Turian firepower and troop numbers. In order to save his battered force and the surviving colonists, General Williams ordered his troops to surrender.

Many soldiers of his garrison made a home on Elysium after the First Contact War was over. This group was appalled at how General Williams was treated by the Alliance brass. After his death, they successfully lobbied to name the bridge after Williams, showing they were proud to have served under him.

This bridge connects the capital with the surrounding settlements that are spread out in the Illyria Plains.

* * *

This chapter suffered some delay while writing it. Games like the new Tomb Raider and the Citadel DLC kept me busy for a great deal of time.

Admiral Anderson


	7. First round

**Chapter 7: First round**

_SSV Philadelphia – Near Grissom Academy_

"Ma'am, the captain of MSV Sava is refusing to cooperate with our boarding team. Says we abusing our authority with the new security measures."

"If he won't cooperate with us, then the Alliance will gladly escort his ship to the mass relay. You can tell him I said that."

"Understood, ma'am. Lewis out." The corporals image disappeared, making way for an orange image of the cruiser.

She left the galaxy map and started walking towards one of the large windows that surrounded the CIC. With crossed arms she observed how a small patrol ship docked with a merchant freighter. If every inspection would drag on like the last one, most of her time would be simply wasted. After leaving Elysium, her task group had been stepping up patrols in the system. Inspecting civilian traffic for any sign of pirate activity, so far it hadn't turned up anything worth noting.

She shifted her attention to the large space station behind the two ships, still under construction Grissom Academy was a sight to behold. The majestic piece of engineering was covered entirely with construction crews, all working determinedly to finish it before the end of the year. She had received quite a few complaints from them, most viewed the inspections as yet another delay. One they had far too many of.

"Captain, we're getting some strange readings from one of our spy drones near the relay. Could you take a look at it?"

"I'm on my way Dana."

"Ma'am, we've got a major problem." Her XO, Lieutenant-commander Washington, a tall man with a skin the color of black coffee started walking along with her.

"What is it, Jordan?"

"Might be a glitch in the system but our communications with Constantine are gone. We're getting no response on the standard channels, even the emergency frequencies don't work."

"Keep trying, warn me the moment you get a connection. I don't like being in the dark."

"Do you think it has something to do with the fighting in the capital?" He asked while frowning deeply.

"Maybe, something just doesn't feel right about all this." The thought had also crossed her mind before, there were just too many things happening all at once. Riots in the capital followed by a complete communications blackout. More and more she started to think Moore had made the right call when he mobilized his forces.

"I better get to it then." He turned around, closing the door behind him.

"So what do you have for me?"

"This is the footage the drone send before it dropped off the grid." Dana's hands flew across the display in front of her. A small screen popped up, showing the mass relay the drone had been guarding.

Nothing happened at first, just showing the endless void she had become familiar with. She watched more closely when a small ship appeared, a light frigate perhaps? IFF identification below the screen revealed the name of the vessel. _The Pride of Veran._

The image turned to black instantly when the frigate neared the spy drone. Whoever those people were, it was safe to assume they weren't allies.

"VI, can you find anything regarding the Pride of Veran in our records." She waited anxiously while it processed her request.

"_Pride of Veran, decommissioned Turian frigate. Disappeared two months ago en route to ship salvage yard. Turian Hierarchy suspects involvement of Terminus pirates. Citadel races have permission to engage." _

Dana looked over her shoulder at her. "Does this mean the good times are over?"

"Yes, it does. Let's go and find our visitor." Before she could leave, a red light began to flash on her omni-tool. Automatically triggering a ship wide alarm, urging all crew members to man their stations.

"Looks like they came to find us instead. Short range scanner confirms it's the same ship." True enough, the grey frigate appeared out of FTL, ahead of the task force.

"Captain, we're being hailed by the frigate. Should we respond?" Washington asked over the intercom.

"Transfer it to the cockpit Jordan, just in case tell the other captains to prepare for combat."

"Understood ma'am. Transferring it to you now."

"This is captain Shepard of the SSV Philadelphia, identify yourself."

"Captain Farak, at your service." A mocking voice replied. "Sorry for destroying your spy gadget but it was getting on my nerves. I have problems with people trying to keep tabs on me."

"What are you doing here?"

"Delivering a message from Elanos Haliat. He wanted to let you know that a substantial fleet is on its way to Elysium to claim certain assets from the Alliance. I'm thinking along the lines of credits, colonists and other valuable goods."

"Is that so?" She exchanged looks with Dana, rolling with her eyes. "I'm afraid you forget the fact that Elysium is under Alliance protection."

"We're well aware of that which is why we are giving you the option to retreat. If you leave now you might even walk away in one piece. So what answer will it be?"

She could almost feel how the entire crew was waiting for her to answer. Would the captain back down or would she stand and fight. She smirked widely at the Turian pirate, knowing just what answer to give. One that would have weight to it.

"What do you think of this. I'll let you be the answer. I'm sure your boss will get the message."

"What? Don't be playing games with me human. No one will … ." She made a cut the line movement to Dana, ending the pirate's ranting.

"What a shame Dana, poor connection it would seem. Too bad we couldn't make sense of what he was saying. I did understand that he was planning to attack us, guess we'll have no choice but to strike first." She gave a playful wink to Dana who got the hidden message.

"Contacting the CIC for you now captain." A small image of Jordan appeared, waiting for orders.

"Washington, fire the main gun."

The cruiser shook shortly as it fired off three rounds in rapid succession after each other. Hannah watched as the shells made their way towards the frigate that made a delayed attempt to retreat into FTL.

The first round disabled the kinetic barriers, striking near the engines. The force of the resulting explosion ripped all of them apart.

The second one struck the bridge section, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. She knew that whatever leadership had been there was now dead or soon would be.

The last one proved the frigate's undoing, impacting near the mid-section and breaking the back of the ship. She turned her head away from the bright light that erupted from it. Watching a mass effect core explode was like looking straight at the sun. When it was over only burning wreckage remained in the aftermath of the explosions.

"Hostile frigate destroyed ma'am, scanners show no survivors."

"Good work Dana, keep an eye out for more of them. His friends are bound to show up sooner or later."

"Really? I was kinda hoping he'd been lying. Guess I can say that beauty sleep goodbye." She replied with a sad face, causing Hannah to chuckle as she left for the CIC.

* * *

_Police HQ – Downtown Illyria – Elysium_

"I'm not giving up the location of the data I've got on him. Think of it as my insurance policy. You get me off world and it's yours."

"We need that data now, the longer he is out there, the more damage he can do to us." Kahoku countered while he glared at Snow.

Shepard was leaning against the window, watching the sun slowly setting behind the horizon. He suppressed a yawn while listening in on the discussion behind him. For the past few hours he and Kahoku had taken turns on drilling the merc for information. A time consuming matter to say the least.

At least the view was nice, maybe when all this was over he could look into finding a place for himself. Where he could retreat to between tours of duty, a small apartment sounded about right. Like the one in a nearby tower he was watching at. _Probably cost a small fortune, way above a marine's salary._

His daydreaming ended when the reflection of something on top of the tower caught his eye. He frowned when a small figure stood up. What was that guy doing up there? And that metal thing, was that a rifle?

"Get down, sniper!" For the second time that day he ducked for cover. Glass rained down on him as shots were fired. The entire room transformed into chaos as the wind blew in. With a hard pull he managed to close the blinds, obstructing the view of their attacker.

He slowly stood up when everything fell silent, very carefully opening a small part of the curtains. He lowered his sidearm when Rachel and Lee stormed into the room, alerted by the gunfire.

"Shepard, are you alright? What happened." Lee asked with a nod to the window.

"Sniper, think he's gone though. Help Kahoku, I'll deal with Snow." Lee ran over to Rachel who was already applying medi-gel to the captain.

He found Snow sitting against a nearby wall, with a large wound on his chest. Coughing up blood and gasping for air while desperately trying to stay awake.

"Stay calm, we'll get you out of here." His attempt at comfort had Snow laughing shortly.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bad liar Shepard." Snow made a faint motion to his chest. "I'm not dumb, wound like this I'm not walking away from this. And to think I was really looking forward to spending my retirement in a villa with a nice girl to keep me company." He took a deep breath as he handed a small OSD to Shepard. "I've stashed the data in a communication station at these coordinates. Everything I've got on the Shark is in there, it's all yours. Just promise me to put it to good use."

"I will, you've got my word on that."

"I know you will Shepard, you're a boy scout through and through from what I've heard. Too bad I won't get to see the look on that snake's face." After laughing a few more times, his head slowly dropped to his chest. Shepard closed the man's eyes, picked up his gear and crossed the room to Kahoku. Rachel, assisted by Lee, had placed him a chair. Applying medi-gel to a flesh wound on his arm.

"What about Snow, is he still alive?" Kahoku's face darkened when Shepard shook his head. "Great he was our only chance on finding the person behind this, now we've got nothing."

"I wouldn't say that sir. Before he died, Snow gave me this OSD. He claimed it contains coordinates on the data he possessed."

"Did he now?" Kahoku slowed turned it around in his hands a few times, looking over it. "Well it's the only lead we have left, get out there and retrieve that data. If we're lucky the Shark thinks the proof died with Snow. And keep it strictly within your squad." He nodded to a familiar camera drone that hovered near the door. It's owner not far behind.

"Are you all okay? The cops wouldn't let me in at first so I had to use my charm on them and … . Shaw stopped talking at the sight of Snow's body. Eventually turning to Shepard with a quizzical look.

"Anybody want to tell me what happened?"

* * *

_SSV Philadelphia – Near Gilead_

"This is an automated emergency message from the Alliance navy. All civilian ships in the Vetus system are hereby ordered to head for Joppa and to remain there until further notice. Do not attempt to leave the system, imminent invasion makes using the mass relay extremely hazardous. Failure to follow these instructions will result in incarceration by Alliance forces. This message will repeat itself every ten minutes."

Hannah kept going over the information on her data pad, scrolling through numbers and status reports. So far most civilian ships listened to the warning she had send out.

After the brief encounter with the pirate envoy, she had moved her task force to Gilead, a small rock planet not far from the mass relay. Putting her in a perfect position to intercept enemy ships entering the system. The plan was to fight a delaying action until the sixth fleet arrived to provide assistance. She had briefed every captain under her command, ensuring everyone knew their orders. All that remained know was waiting and like most people she hated waiting.

"_Captain, unauthorized vessels have entered the system. Our long-range scanners place their strength at 20 ships, mostly frigates and patrol ships. It could be a scouting force."_

"Let's send them back the way they came from, tell all captains to initiate our battle plan."

"Yes ma'am. Washington out."

She passed her data pad to a passing crewmember and hurried over to the circular table in the war room. On it a large map of the system showed the position of every ship, allied or hostile with pinpoint accuracy.

The red ships that exited the mass relay finally noticed her task group, making a short turn to bring their guns to bear. Alliance naval tactics instructed commanders to always cover friendly ships. These pirates on the other hand left wide holes in their formation, a weakness she was planning on exploiting.

"_Enemy ships are 10 kilometers out and incoming. Enemy is now well within reach of our main gun. Waiting for your order captain."_

Once she was sure all of her ships were in position, she gave a short order. "Open fire!"

The entire task group unleashed a volley of murderous fire, making short work of the few charging pirate frigates that got separated from the main group. Hannah smiled approvingly at the sight of the system map. With every passing minute, several red ships disappeared of it.

_Don't get ahead of yourself now, there's still much to be done. _She corrected herself. The most dangerous part of her plan was about to start.

While the Philadelphia remained at a safe distance and lay down suppressing fire, her escorting frigates made a wide flanking maneuver. Trying to get as far behind the enemy as possible before striking with everything they had.

She almost felt sorry for the pirates, patrol ships were no match for an Alliance cruiser. One round was generally enough to completely obliterate the small ships. They were basically cannon fodder, soaking Alliance rounds for the other pirates who still came closer to her ship. These enemy frigates proved to be a lot more trouble, dodging and weaving to avoid incoming shells.

The pirates knew that if they got close enough, they could exploit the Philadelphia's only weakness. One that was common among cruiser class warships, it's slower maneuverability that made it harder to target more nimble opponents. One might compare it to a bear getting surrounded by a swarm of bees.

She wasn't very concerned though, the pirates fate had already been sealed. Her frigates had completed their flanking maneuver and came charging in from behind. Many pirate ships discovered to their dismay that were stuck in the middle, some turned to face the new threat. This in turn left them wide open for Alliance gunners who wasted no time in targeting the weaker parts of the ships.

One by one, the red ships vanished off the system map. Taking the steam out of the pirate attack which slowly grounded to a halt. Seeing how many fellow ships were destroyed made several pirate captains decide to get out before things got even worse.

The battle ended with the departure of the surviving pirate frigates, who retreated into FTL. Making it impossible for Hannah to follow them, not that she had any intention of doing so. Her escorting frigates were spread out across a wide distance, regrouping would take some time.

All around her crewmembers began to yell in triumph, padding each other on the backs and cracking jokes. Most were convinced that the worst had already passed, that the pirates were not much of a danger. Others looked at Hannah, wondering why she wasn't relieved about the outcome.

She already knew the pirates next move when pirate ships of all kinds started pouring through the mass-relay. Establishing a front in the Vetus system that rapidly got reinforced as more and more pirates arrived. The whole war room fell silence when Washington's voice appeared on the intercom.

"Captain, our scanners are picking up multiple hostiles. It appears to be the main pirate fleet, they've got numerous frigates, cruisers and transport ships. They are assembling just outside the mass-relay, blocking passage entirely."

"Tell the other captains to …." Hannah couldn't believe she was even considering this but what other options were there? "Tell them I'm ordering a retreat to Joppa, we'll regroup there."

"Yes ma'am. Do you have any further orders?"

"Just one, I'm heading to my cabin, taking some shuteye. Take care of the ship while I'm out."

"Will do, I'll let you know if something further develops." Hannah could hear the concern in his voice and was slightly touched by it. Washington would make a fine commander someday.

She made her way to the elevator, cursing to herself for having fallen for the pirates trap. That scouting force had clearly been bait, meant to lure her out. Sacrificing dozen of ships in the process hadn't mattered to them. Once the elevator doors were closed and nobody could hear her, she slammed her fist into the elevator wall out of frustration.

* * *

Had a lot of fun writing this chapter, next naval battle will most likely be at the end of the story. In the next chapter the pirates launch their invasion of Elysium.

Admiral Anderson


	8. Fire from the sky

**Chapter 8: Fire from the sky**

_Fort Constantine – Central operations - Elysium_

Colonel Enrico Giraldo took another sip from the substance that passed for coffee on Elysium. It tasted horrible but had managed to keep him up during his shift, a boost he was thankful for because he hadn't seen a bed since this whole mess started. Throwing the empty cup in the sink, he left the small kitchen and headed to his command post.

The entire base had become a hive of activity with hundreds of people called in due to the fighting in the capital, carrying out a multitude of different tasks. Marines were outfitted for combat, then send to Illyria to fight the remaining mercs. Meanwhile Alliance scientists and engineers were furiously trying to combat the mysterious virus that had infected Alliance databases with mixed results.

The arrival of refugees from the capital had complicated matters even more, resulting in a logistical nightmare. Most required food, medicine and since many had lost their home in the fighting, a place to sleep. To solve this problem he had ordered the Alliance vault underneath Constantine to start taking in the refugees. The vault's design was very similar to the old fallout shelters he'd seen on Earth, providing complete security for its residents.

_Better get to it then. It's Showtime. _He thought amused to himself as he entered the command post.

He made sure to greet his people, asking how they were doing and advising them to get some coffee. Most didn't take his advice though, it was funny how suddenly many people didn't drink the stuff.

He activated his computer and sighted deeply when he realized how many unread messages demanded his attention. The communicator on his desk sprung to life with a buzzing sound, he groaned when he read the name from the caller. Danny Huntington, a strange Alliance scientist with a jovial attitude he had befriended.

"Please tell me you're coming to lend me a hand, I'm about to drown in work here."

"Sorry Enrico, like I told you before, my classification level simply isn't high enough. But if a certain individual would loan me his new sky car I could be persuaded to bypass protocols and lend a hand." The other voice suggested with a glimmer of hope.

"Fine, just make sure to return in the same condition as you got it. Now why did you call me? Not just for the car I take it."

"Alright, alright. Back to work then. I wanted to let you know that we regained control over a small part of the defense network. The Gardian laser towers are still offline but one of the two experimental Goliath planetary defense cannons is in working condition."

"There is a reason those things are called experimental Danny, the first prototype missed its target and leveled an entire moon." He countered.

"Yes, yes, I know. We've managed to solve most of the targeting errors it had, used properly it'll work without a problem. I'm not entirely happy with its shielding though, it's only running at half capacity."

"It'll have to do, we need that gun. I'm going to deploy some gunners to operate the thing." Enrico threw a quick look at the files that were dropped on his desk by a soldier. "Can you hurry up on getting here, I think I'm going to overload."

"We wouldn't want that, you're the only who understands my sparkling personality." Huntington laughed loudly at his joke. "I'm on my way, you'd better have something to drink though."

He was grateful that Danny couldn't see the devilish grin that formed on his face. "Oh don't worry, I know just the thing."

The next hour he divided his time between fighting bureaucracy and dealing with paperwork. He was so caught up in it all that he almost jumped out off his chair when someone punched him in the back. The culprit was holding his hands up in defense when he turned around.

"Can you blame me, I was standing here for ten minutes and you still managed to ignore me."

He gave Danny one of his soldier expressions, reserved for special occasions. Both of his six year old twin daughters had dubbed it the angry look. Telling him that even big monsters would run away out of fear.

"Fine, fine." He threw his hands up in surrender. "It won't happen again. Why don't you put that overworked mind of yours in standby modus, I'll take care of your workload. Now where can I start?"

"I've set a computer up for you to use, if you want to use my sky car, you'd better earn it."

Faster than a ship in FTL, Danny ran to his spot and started sorting out all the different tasks. Enrico laughed approvingly, he always did have a way of motivating people. He stopped laughing when red emergency lights began to light up in Central operations with alarms going off alongside it. Storming out of his office, he quickly headed straight for his second in command.

"Franklin, what's going on?"

"We just received a coded transmission from task force Philadelphia, they reported heavy combat with pirate forces. It's commanding officer had to disengage in the face of overwhelming opposition, retreating for the safety of Joppa. We tried to respond but failed to get through the jamming."

"What about these pirates, what are they doing?"

Major Franklin motioned for Enrico to follow him until they stood in front of an enormous vid-screen. Numerous data-feeds and numbers scrolled down on it. Franklin used his omni-tool to access the long range scanners data-feed. Seconds later a large force of ships appeared, heading straight for Elysium.

"As you can see, the main force has broken up into three fleets. One is heading for the Illyria outskirts, mainly consisting of transport ships. We suspect that it is easier for them to unload troops there because of the flat terrain."

Enrico knew he should have listened sooner to Moore. He had been one of the officers who'd chosen to believe that the mercs were the main threat. This new development proved him wrong.

"A second fleet remains in orbit, this one has the bulk of pirate warships at its disposal. Its ships range from frigates to cruisers of all kind. According to cracked communications, the pirates flagship is a batarian carrier, capable of fielding hundreds of fighters and bombers."

"And the last fleet, where are they heading?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

"Straight at us sir. Numbering around fifty heavy frigates they are in a direct flight pad to Fort Constantine."

"How much time do we have until they get here?"

"Half an hour tops, after that they've reached bombarding positions." Franklin finished calmly.

"This is what we're going to do. Without the Gardian lasers we only have the Goliath defense tower and our fighters to defend ourselves with. We'll use both to buy time while you evacuate all nonessential personnel to the Vault."

"Yes sir." Franklin saluted him and walked to a nearby group of officers, giving orders to them while they followed him out of the room.

"Why is everyone evacuating, are the mercenaries attacking the base?" Huntington asked as he took a place beside him.

"Even worse, we're being invaded." Enrico explained as he turned on the live combat feed. The vid-screen now showed the images that his soldiers hard suits were filming. Both men silently watched the battle unfold before them.

Alliance fighter and bomber pilots were scrambling to take off, trying to get as many of them into the fight as possible. The squadron's leaders plan of attack was for the Tridents to distract the enemy gunships and fighters while the bombers attacked the frigates.

In numerous dogfights above Elysium, Alliance fighter pilots made short work of the pirates. The enemy simply didn't posses enough experienced fighter pilots to form a seriouse threat. Wave upon wave of them were destroyed before the survivors retreated back to their home carrier. Leaving their ground troops and gunships without fighter cover, a perfect opportunity that the Tridents couldn't ignore.

The slower Alliance bombers fared less better than the fighter squadrons. Taking heavy losses to Gardian-defenses mounted on the frigates. Undaunted the remaining bombers pressed home their attack with spectacular results.

A quarter of the frigate force was reduced to crumbling wrecks that spiraled downwards to Elysium, crashing far from settled land into Lake Illyria. Even though they were pirates, rescue efforts were mounted to save survivors from the sunken frigates. Those fortunate enough to be rescued were surprised to find out that Alliance medics provided medical assistance to them before they were transported away as prisoners of war.

Meanwhile the dwindling frigate fleet still maintained its course to Constantine now that Alliance bombers had backed off. Unbeknownst to the pirates, Alliance pilots had been ordered to break contact to avoid friendly fire. The experimental Goliath defense tower couldn't tell the difference yet between friend or foe so close to each other.

Once fully powered up, it fired of its metal slugs with deadly accuracy. The rounds destroyed the leading frigate, slicing through it before burying itself in another one. Alliance gunners were stunned by the weapons destructive force, none of them had seen anything that came close to it.

By the time that the fleet appeared in Constantine's airspace, it had been entirely decimated accept for one damaged frigate. Once its crew realized that the Goliath was preparing to fire on them, they abandoned ship with every available life-pod. Alliance gunners gave them enough time to get clear before finishing the frigate off. Unlike the other frigates, this steer less hulk of metal crashed in a place no one could have predicted. The Goliath defense tower itself.

The defense tower survived the collision with the frigate, albeit at the cost of losing its firing capabilities and several Alliance service men. With the loss of the Goliath, the last defense of Fort Constantine had fallen. Something Enrico realized all too well as he turned around to face a room full with scared soldiers under his command.

"Alright people, we've bloodied their nose and send a message to them that the Alliance will kick them back to whatever hole they crawled out of."

"What now Colonel?" One of the marines in the crowd asked.

"It won't be long before they call down another orbital bombardment on this fort so everyone is hereby ordered to head for the vault. Now get moving, that door won't stay open forever." The group of marines and civilian personnel hurried out the operations center with perfect discipline as officers did headcounts to ensure no one was left behind.

"Aren't you coming Enrico?" Huntington was halfway through the room when he looked back at him.

"Have to send a priority message to Admiral Moore, I'll be right behind you."

"If you say so, don't make it too long. If I'm going to be stuck in some vault, I'm sure as hell not going without the guy who ordered me in there. Your wife would never forgive me." With that being said the Alliance scientist followed the others outside.

Enrico rushed back into his office, going straight for his command terminal. Typing a special coded message he had never imagined to send. Once it was gone, he wondered how many time was left. A question that answered itself when Fort Constantine's VI appeared over the intercom.

"_Warning to Alliance personnel, enemy ships have arrived in orbital bombarding position. If you have not yet evacuated please do so now, computer projections predict that the chance of surviving the bombing are below five percent. Thank you for your attention."_

Enrico let out a deep sigh, knowing what he had to do. He activated his onmi-tool and looked for his wife's number. Smiling when her face appeared on it, she was beautifull as always.

"_Where are you Enrico? Danny would only tell me you had something import to do. The girls are getting worried and so am I."_

"The bombardment is going to start any minute now honey. I won't make it to the vault in time."

"_Wait what? You don't know that! Get over here now, you can still make it." _She pleaded with a heartbreaking voice.

"I won't, but you and the girls will." He managed to say.

"_Don't you dare close that door, don't you dare!" _

"I've always loved all of you". Breaking the connection and pushing the override button took all the strength he had inside him. The vault door closed immediately, everyone inside was safe now. His family was safe.

As the VI began the countdown he used his remaining time to send a prerecorded message to his family. Something he had prepared long ago in case something happened to him. Once it was send he walked outside his office into the empty operations center.

At the same time the pirate fleet received the go ahead for the bombardment. Five hundred ships all fired at the same time, focusing their bombardment on Fort Constantine.

Those unlucky enough to be above ground were among the first victims as the entire Fort was turned into a warzone. All structures above ground crumbled under the unrelenting bombardment, hangars collapsed on itself, ammunition and storage dumps exploded with ground shaking force. Sending debris flying that even reached Illryia. The last structure to fall was the main building where central operations was, taking the fort's commanding officer down with it.

The bombardment lasted for another hour as the pirates made sure that nothing was salvageable. Once the ships stopped their bombing, only a burning wasteland remained where Fort Constantine once stood.

The only survivors were those lucky enough to be in the Alliance vault. They would remain there until the Battle of Elysium was over.

* * *

_UT-47 Kodiak -Illyria outskirts – Elysium_

"Sergeant, can you join me for a minute? I've got something you need to hear."

The pilot's voice woke Shepard up from his attempt to sleep. He suppressed a yawn as he slowly raised himself from his cramped seat. After sleeping in one of these a sleeper pod aboard a starship suddenly sounded way more attractive. He glanced at his omni- tool for the time and was surprised to find out that it was almost midnight.

Both Lee and Shaw had opted to stay awake and were quietly conversing with each other. Rachel had occupied the row of seats on the other side and was soundly asleep. Shepard slowly made his way past them to the cockpit, trying to make as little sound that he could. Taking the empty co-pilots seat, he caught the earpiece the pilot passed to him.

"About five minutes ago, an alliance major announced that Admiral Moore would be giving an update about the fighting. Thought you'd wanted to hear it.

This was great news, it meant both Moore and Jane were still alive. This was a huge weight of his shoulders. Everything would be alright he thought to himself as Moore came on air.

"_Alliance soldiers and colonists on Elysium, this is Admiral Tom Moore speaking to you. I know the announcer said I would be giving an update about the fighting in the capital but the situation however has become more urgent."_

Shepard didn't like the way this was going, the Admiral sounded more serious than normal. What could have gone wrong?

_"There is no easy way to say this so I'll get straight to the point. Three hours ago, a pirate armada entered the Vetus system and engaged our ships without a declaration of war. Our navy fought a valiant defense but had to retreat due to the pirates superior numbers. This pirate fleet then descended upon Elysium, targeting Alliance installations and troops." _Moore stopped talking for a second, as if he was trying to look for the right words.

"_It is with a profound sadness that I bring you the news that Fort Constantine has fallen. The fort was the target of an orbital bombardment that destroyed most of its infrastructure. Thankfully the human toll was much lower, I've received word that most on base personnel made it to the Alliance vault."_

"Can you believe this sarge? I mean Constantine gone?" Shepard didn't answer the pilot, he was completely taken aback by the news. All those people gone, just like that.

"_It is clear by now what the pirates want, the occupation and destruction of Elysium. Even as I speak to you now, transport ships are landing at the Illyria Plains. Unloading thousands of troops who are marching on towards Illyria. To do so they have to pass the General Williams Memorial bridge, after that they'll have a clear shot to the capital."_ He stated.

"_To bad for them that I just set up my command post at the bridge and I'm not planning to leave. I'm ordering every Alliance soldier able to leave Illyria to head for my position. These pirates think they've won, they think that they can just waltz in here and take our planet! Let's show them what happens when you wake up a sleeping giant!" _He declared vigorously. _"Admiral Moore out."_

"Change course to that bridge, I want us there asap." Shepard gave back the earpiece and headed back to his people. Finding all of them in different states, they had also heard the message on their omni-tools.

Lee and Rachel were stunned by the news, it seemed so surreal to them. An entire naval base gone and an invasion on the way. But the news seemed to fall especially hard on Shaw, who was sitting in a defeated state, resting his head on his hands.

"Did you know someone at Constantine?" Shepard asked after taking a seat next to him.

"I have a daughter there, she is married to Constantine's commander." He answered back. "Took this assignment so I could visit them, hadn't seen them in years, always so caught up in my work. Now I may never, what if … what if they didn't make it?"

"Hey don't talk like that, you heard the Admiral. Most of them made it to the vault, you're family is safe. I just now it." He tried to lift the reporter's spirit.

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Shaw mumbled to himself while looking towards the floor.

The rest of the trip was spend in complete silence as everyone was wrapped up in their own thoughts. Shepard was fiddling with his omni-tool, trying to get in contact with his mother. But every time, the error message said that extranet addresses couldn't be reached at this time due to unforeseen events. Eventually he gave up, the pirates had probably destroyed the comm buoys.

"We've reached the Alliance camp near the bridge sergeant, touching down now. Go give emm hell."

"Thanks, take care of yourself." He yelled back as the shuttle doors opened. The cold night wind blew in his face when he jumped outside and surveyed his surroundings.

The camp was located more than two kilometers away from the bridge, concealed with camouflage nets draped over the buildings. Huge stadium like light towers surrounded it, lighting up the entire area. Shuttles flew on and off, picking up refugees for transport to Illyria. The few marines that were present were hard at work setting up defense positions and helping the refugees.

He and his squad jumped to attention when a dominating figure followed by two marines walked up to them. Moore returned the salute before shaking Shepard's hand.

"Shepard, aren't you are a sight for sore eyes." He said with a growing smile.

* * *

**Alliance codex**

**Goliath defense tower: **Brainchild of Alliance scientist Danny Huntington, the Goliath is the most destructive defense turret in the Alliance's arsenal. Comparable in height to the Washington Monument on Earth, the Goliath is the most advanced piece of technology to be used during the Battle of Elysium.

The idea to build the Goliath saw light shortly after the treaty of Farixen was signed. Most Alliance commanders felt this was a crucial mistake, one that might cost the Alliance dearly should war ever break out between council races. Alliance scientist were ordered to searched for ways to bypass the treaty without breaking it, resulting in the development of the Goliath defense tower. An enormous structure that houses a single main-gun normally found on Alliance dreadnoughts. To operate effectively, it requires a fully staffed crew of fifty gunners and engineers.

Alliance brass was skeptical about the Goliath at first but changed their mind after the Galileo incident when a test went wrong.

During this test the Alliance placed several dummy warships near Elysium's two moons to serve as a gunnery target for the Goliath. When it fired, missed computer bugs affected the targeting solutions, causing the rounds to hit the uninhabited moon called Galileo behind the dummy fleet instead.

In order to cover up the incident, the Alliance blamed an asteroid that was travelling through the system. An explanation that fooled almost everyone accept for the salarian's Special Task Group. In backroom negotiations they promised to keep the weapons existence hidden from the council in exchange for its construction plans. A deal that the Alliance found agreeable.

Since then, another Goliath tower has been build on Elysium to protect Fort Constantine. As both defense towers are still in an experimental stage, constant modifications are being made to them. Should further tests prove the reliability of the new weapon, it has the potential to become a mainstay in the Alliance defense arsenal. Though mass production may prove difficult due to monetary constraints.

* * *

There you have it folks, chapter 8 is on the books. Had some great ideas while writing it for future chapters. A shoutout to BlueSpartan107 and others for the feedback provided to me so far. Hope you all liked the Admiral Anderson reference near the ending, wanted to use that line for a long time now.

Admiral Anderson


	9. Last chance for rest

**Chapter 9: Last chance for rest**

_Alliance Camp Eagle– David Palmer Naval Hospital - Elysium_

"Just take it easy, I'll find something to refresh that bandage." Lee opened the med-kit besides the hospital bed, taking out disinfectants and several bandage rolls. His patient took off her upper body armor, leaving her in her undershirt, something he didn't disapprove of.

He couldn't help himself as his eyes began roaming over her while he carefully reapplied the medi-gel. From her copper colored sportive body, her long raven black hair to her dark brown eyes and of course everything in between. He snapped out of it when Rachel snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Eyes up here Lee, otherwise I'll put my foot down there." She declared with a small smile.

"I'm just trying to make sure my squad mate gets back to health, what did you think I was doing?" He asked innocently.

Rachel rolled with her eyes. "Uhuh whatever you say, you're a real Samaritan."

Okay think back to what Shepard told you in basic training, gather intelligence first and then make your move. He decided to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"So why'd you join the Alliance? Shepard told me you lived on the Citadel, sounds like an awesome place to live."

She wondered what he was up but couldn't pass up the chance to find out more about him as well. "Wanted to see all wonders the galaxy has to offer I guess, spread my wings and make a difference." She started to chuckle." No one was more pleased to see me leave than the Presidium c-sec captain."

Now he was getting somewhere. "Why's that, were you some genius master thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor?"

"The only laws I've ever broken were of the traffic kind. No it was nothing like that, just doing stuff that in hindsight I shouldn't have done."

He applied some more medi-gel, the amount he'd already applied was more than enough. But she didn't need to know that. "Like what?"

"Swimming in the lake, climbing the mass-relay statue and my favorite activity of all. Flying up to the buildings that span the Presidium with my dad's old sniper rifle, shooting small Tupari bottles." She began to laugh. "Whenever c-sec showed up, I used the diplomatic immunity line so they had to let me go. That didn't work with my parents of course." She added.

"So swimming in the lake, was that with or without bathing suit?" Her other arm was still working fine he thought when she punched him in his side.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're unrelenting?"

"All the time, it's why everybody likes me so much." Lee replied as he switched over the bandages, rolling it over the wound that looked much better now.

"How about you? Why did you join?" She asked curiously.

"For the chance to get a better life." He replied shortly. "When you grow up alone and don't have a home, you've got two choices. Either you steal to survive or you just whiter away and die." He decided to let out the part where he almost chose the latter one.

"I chose the first one, it kept me alive for much of my teenage years. A lifestyle like that isn't permanent though, sooner or later it catches up to you. I was just lucky before that happened I broke into an N7's hotel room and he caught me."

"An N7's hotel room, really? What did he do when he caught you?" She asked incredulously.

"After kicking my ass when I tried to fight him we talked. About why I broke into his place, about how I was really lucky that his wife wasn't home cause she punched a lot harder than him. About my life and why I should do something more with it." Lee still remembered it, even after all those years. Normally he would've just try to run again but something about the N7's choice of words made him stay.

"The N7 told me that he could give me the chance for a better life. What I did with it was up to me." He began to grin. "I thought to myself that working for the Alliance couldn't be worse than stealing from day to day. So I said yes and he pulled through on his promise. Turns out his son had also just applied for the Alliance so his dad told him to keep an eye on me."

"Didn't the two of you had any arguments about the break in." She could see his grin widen.

"At first he did but eventually he lowered his guard and we became friends. Fighting alongside each other has a way of making friendships happen a lot sooner than it normally would, I guess."

"Where is he now, are you still friends?" This made Lee explode in laughter, after he regained his breath he opened his omni-tool.

"Let me see, where is he? Aha, found him! He's two rooms further down the hall, more than likely talking with his niece."

"What?" She quickly put two and two together. "Do you mean to say that Shepard is that N7's son, are you serious?"

"Sounds like much to believe, I know but it's true. Since that day I've got to know the Shepard family really well. They're an alright bunch even though they tend to get themselves in impossible situations on a regular basis." He said with a grin. "Lucky for Shepard, he's got the best sniper in the Alliance watching his back, namely me of course."

"You're not too bad, for a _**master thief**_." She responded coyly.

"Is that so, well you're not too bad for a _**rich girl**_." He regretted his words the moment he said them. The friendly atmosphere in the room grew cold as Rachel turned to face him with a pained look in her eyes.

"Is that all I am to you, just some rich girl playing soldier?"

He avoided her eyes and hurried up to finish bandaging her wound. Deciding that if he was quick enough, he could leave before saying something more stupid.

"All done, you should be fine now." He tried to stand up but got pushed back down by Rachel who left the bed she'd been sitting on.

"You didn't answer my question Lee." Rachel stated as she moved closer, stopping right in front of him.

"Well I … I… listen I'm almost out of moves here." He answered with a dry mouth as he looked up to her.

"I'm not." Rachel whispered with a seductive voice as she leaned in for a long kiss, the first of many.

* * *

Shepard was standing in the doorway of Jane's room, flipping the light switch off. Seeing her sleeping silent form made him think back to the time right after her rescue from Mindoir. She'd woke up almost every night screaming thanks to nightmares about what had happened. He took it upon himself to calm her down and staying with her until she fell back asleep.

After asking Moore where she was, he had gone straight to the only concrete building in the camp. Once a normal naval hospital, it was now filled with doctors trying to help the unending stream of refugees. There he found her helping the doctors treat wounded colonists and soldiers. When she spotted him, the strength of her hug almost pushed all the air out off his lungs. It meant everything to him that despite being in a combat zone she was still safe.

They both walked around the hospital for a while, sharing their experiences with each other. He'd heard from the argument she had with Moore and asked her about it. At first she avoided his question but eventually gave in, saying that she was still shaken about it but knew she'd done the right thing. He was just grateful for his dad's decision to teach her how to use a pistol. Otherwise it would've turned out quite differently.

He knew she didn't need him watching her back all the time anymore, she was sixteen now but old habits die hard. He silently closed the door and left to check up on Lee and Rachel. Shepard knew the two of them had gotten close over the past few days which he approved of. If anyone deserved to be happy it was the two of them, just as long as they kept it together during combat.

Lee had often laughed about the fact that he was still single, saying the women should go crazy over a super soldier like him. To which Shepard would reply that that special person was still somewhere out there, hell she could even be from another species for all he knew. Anyway he had more important things on his mind right now than his love life.

He knocked on the door he'd seen the two of them walk through while he talked with Jane. For some odd reason it was locked but his knocking had startled the occupants of the room. He could hear something fall on the ground and the sound of people moving in a hurry.

"Is everything alright in there?" He asked somewhat concerned.

"Shepard it's you." Lee looked to be a bit flushed as he opened the door to let him in. "How's Jane, heard she went through quite an ordeal today?"

"She's a little shaken but she'll be fine, just needs some rest." He explained as he walked inside. "I was actually coming to check up on you guy's but I've got the feeling I interrupted something." Rachel who for some reason had her upper armor wrong in several places stiffened completely.

"We were just talking you know, about sniper rifles." She gave Lee a light shove against his side. "Weren't we Lee?"

"Yeah what she said, sniper rifles." He nervously chipped in, causing Rachel to smack her hand against the back of his head.

Shepard could barely keep a straight face at the sight before him, even a blind krogan could guess what they'd really been up to. He decided to go along with them just for the sake of it. "Is that so, well you'll have to continue that conversation at a later time. "Admiral Moore is expecting us in the command tent, he's going to brief us about the upcoming pirate assault."

"We're behind you Shep, lead the way." Lee said with some relief in his eyes, thinking they were safe now.

He walked back into the hallway when he said some words that froze both of them in their tracks. "That new shade of lipstick you're using suits you Lee. The red matches your eye color perfectly."

The doctors in the hospital looked strange at him as he walked through the lobby still laughing to himself. Behind him both Lee and Rachel were silently arguing but he could still overhear some of it.

"_What she said_" Rachel mimicked him. "You really couldn't have come up with something better than that?"

"You're giving me a hard time? You were the one who left the evidence on my face, how was I supposed to explain that." He asked, obviously less ashamed about the whole situation than her. "Next time, I'll have a better line of nonsense's ready, does that make you happy?"

Rachel gave him another playful shove against his side. "What makes you think, they'll even be a next time?"

"Oh come on, after that you can be sure there will be a next time." He replied with a wide smirk at Rachel who looked the other way in order to hide her blushing.

"Alright lovebirds." Shepard said over his back. "We're here."

He entered the command tent where everyone was hard at work. Officers gave out orders on the comm stations, marines were busy operating recon drones and processing the newest intel that they send back. In the middle of the tent was a giant table with a tactical layout of the immediate area on it. Admiral Moore was leaning over it, moving his hands across the table to zoom in on certain areas.

"Shepard, glad you could make it here." Moore said when he looked up. "And who are the people behind you? We haven't been introduced yet."

"Well Admiral, the person on my left is corporal Ramirez, one of the most talented snipers of my squad." Both Lee and Rachel exchanged amused looks with each other at that statement. "The person on my right is corporal Marshall, also an excellent sniper."

Moore stepped around the table with a puzzled look, stopping in front of the small group. Lee was confused when the Admiral shook his head in disbelief at him. "So corporal, is there any reason you should be having lipstick on your neck?"

All three of them were now looking at Lee who was taken off guard by the question. "Um well you see Admiral, its camouflage for when we engage the enemy." He began as he scratched his neck, trying to get the red marks to disappear. "Should we come under attack from female pirates this will allow me to blend in. Giving me a chance to strike from within." He finished while throwing dirty looks at Rachel and Shepard who couldn't stop their snickering.

"That's the most elaborate line of bullshit I've ever heard in my years with the Alliance." Moore padded him on the shoulders a few times."I'll take it corporal, just try to be more subtle in the future." He turned around and walked to his previous position at the table, motioning for them to join him.

"Now that we've got that out the way we can return to the matter at hand." He stated. "As you can see here, our camp is only a few kilometers away from the bridge, the refugees will be safe here while we fight at the bridge." An image of the bridge popped up, spanning a wide river with a strong current. "The left bank we're on provides enough cover from enemy fire, the dense forest and rocky terrain will make it harder for the pirates to target us. I've ordered for the construction of several trenches, these should provide even more cover."

Shepard noticed the a large amount of red dots amassing at the Illyria plains. "How many troops do they have Admiral." Moore sighted as he looked up to face him.

"We've questioned the colonists that fled their farms and homes and combined their statements with our own estimates. My officers place their current strength at thirty thousand men." Shepard could just hide his amazement at this revelation.

"If you add in the colonists who volunteered to help defend the bridge, our current strength is around two hundred and fifty men and women." Moore wiped his hand across his eyes out of tiredness. "We've also got some air cover from aerial units who were stationed at Fort Constantine. Reinforcements from Illyria could also be incoming but only when the mercenaries are defeated."

"This is going to make it very hard to drive them back Sir." Rachel interjected. "Not without superior numbers."

Moore didn't seem to mind her opinion as he responded. "Our goal is not to drive them back corporal, only to hold out long enough for the sixth fleet to arrive. They will take care of the rest."

"So where do you want us Admiral?" He asked, mentally ready for what was about to come.

"We've installed a barricade at our side of the bridge and reinforced it with several heavy machine guns. The people there are understaffed so they could really use the help." He studied the bridge for a couple of seconds before facing Shepard again.

"They have some small tents available there, so get some rest first. Cracked enemy transmissions reveal that the pirate attack is due to start around 8 am." His face had a determined look when he spoke further. "We can't lose that bridge Shepard, it has to stay in our hands at any costs."

"They won't take it Admiral, you've got my word on that." He said confidently.

"Good." He gave a short order over his omni-tool. "There is a Mako outside, ready to transport you to the bridge. Good luck marines and godspeed." Moore saluted them and after they responded the small group started to leave the tent. Shepard turned around when Moore called his name after him.

"And Shepard, I'll make sure Jane stays safe during the battle."

"Thank you Admiral."

"Don't mention it, if anything would happen to her you're mom would launch her cruiser straight down my throat." He laughed shortly before becoming serious again. "Be careful Shepard."

"You too Admiral." He left the warmth from the tent for the cold night. After a quick sprint towards the provided Mako, he jumped inside to join his small squad. The tank came alive with a loud roar, its driver pressed a few buttons, making a u-turn and storming outside of the camp into an unknown future.

* * *

**Alliance camp Eagle: **During the opening hours of the invasion, Admiral Moore gave the order to construct a camp around the David Palmer Naval hospital. It quickly became an evacuation point for colonists who had abandoned their homes when word of the invasion spread. The entire defensive campaign was carried out from this camp under the command of the Admiral.

In preperation of the upcoming assault Alliance marines and colonists were ordered to build defenses in the immediate area to stop the pirate invasion. Realizing that their fewer numbers meant that they couldn't attack the pirate force head on they turned to other tactics. Deploying mines and boobytraps designed to make as much casualties as possible. Soldiers and colonists alike were told to dig in behind trenches and down foxholes.

Admiral Moore's plan was simple, his forces were to fight a Guerilla war until the sixth fleet arrived in the system. His defenses were set up in such a way that for every lost colonist or soldier on his side, ten pirates wouldn't be leaving Elysium.

* * *

I figured that it was about high time that Rachel and Lee had a private moment. Too bad that Shepard ruined said moment, he has a way of doing that:) (Remember Gabby and Ken during ME3?). This was by far the most fun chapter to write for this story.

In the next chapter the battle for the General Williams Memorial bridge will take place, will contain a lot more action than this one. Shoutouts to BlueSpartan107, Ranger-A13 and everyone else who's reviewing or reading.

Admiral Anderson


	10. Hold the line

**Chapter 10: Hold the line**

_General Williams Memorial Bridge – Elysium_

Shepard watched with sorrow how a wide smoke column rose above the mountains, coming from Fort Constantine. News stations from the capital spoke of a fire storm with intense heat that made it hard for the Alliance to extinguish it. Sometimes a survivor would be found but these were few and far between, anyone not in the vault during the bombardment was gone.

"I'm not letting her through, she's a batarian for Christ sakes!" A man yelled behind him. "Just because she has kids, that doesn't give her a free pass!"

"I know her, she's my neighbor you moron." A woman sneered back. "You have no right to keep them out."

"Read. My. Lips. She's not getting past this checkpoint. Tell her to go back the way she came from."

He turned around and saw a situation that was rapidly growing out of control. A gung ho colonist was aiming his submachine gun at a frightened batarian mother with two small children hiding behind her. In front of the family was another colonist with spread arms, standing in the line of fire. This was exactly he'd feared what could happen when they got reinforced with volunteer colonists. Overzealous people gunning down their own instead of the pirates they were supposed to shoot.

"Put that gun down, now!" He ordered as he signaled some marines to join him. With their help he began pushing his way through the bystanders that had gathered around the checkpoint. The colonist was surprised when Shepard placed himself right in front of him but didn't back down.

"She could be a spy sergeant, trying to gather as much information as she can before sending it back to her masters."

"With what?" He countered. "She doesn't even have an omni-tool, or do you think that's she going to deploy smoke signals?" He brought his face right to the colonist's. "I'm not going to repeat myself. Either you put down that Shuriken or I'll send you to the other side of that bridge. Then you can ask the pirates in person if she works for them."

Realizing he was left with no choice the colonist backed off and walked away, muttering insults under his breath. The crowd slowly dispersed now that the situation was resolved, resuming their previous activities.

"Thank you human, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." The batarian mother shook her head sadly. "We always were shunned by some colonists but this war made it even worse."

"Don't mention it, I was glad to help. Are you going to be okay from here on?"

"Yes I think so, I'm going with my children to the hospital. We should be safe there." She smiled thankfully. "Stay safe, this galaxy needs more people like you."

With her children in tow, the batarian joined the last group of refugees heading for the hospital. With no signs of new refugees coming from the Illyria plains, it was safe to assume that the next person coming across the bridge wouldn't be friendly.

"_This is private Logan, bridge team can you hear me?" _A male voice asked over his helmet transmitter.

"Shepard here, I read you Logan."

"_Sarge its bad here, the pirates have finished burning down and looting the outside settlements. They are moving up through the forest to the bridge, I'm guessing they'll reach you in ten minutes."_

"Can you leave without alerting them?"

"_I'm gonna try but it's almost impossible, they're moving right underneath the tree I'm hiding in. God there's so many of them. How are we going to stop them? I mean …" _

Suddenly Shepard could hear the telltale sound of gunfire. "Logan! What's going on? Logan, can you hear me?"

"_They've seen me! Well let's see if they like this! Yeah how do you like that you four eyed freaks, want some more?" _The scout yelled over countless grenade explosions. _"I'm clear I think, you better get ready sarge, there is an whole army of them coming."_

"Understood, get back here as soon as you can." He ended the conversation and patched into the main channel for his bridge team, waiting time was over.

"Everyone to their positions, our guests will arrive soon. Let's give them a warm welcome." He ordered. "Wait until you see the white of their eyes, we want them to get close to us."

"_Blue Devil Mantis wing standing by bridge team, when you need us just say the word. We've got some ordnance just waiting for a mark."_

"Glad to have you, stay on this frequency until we call for you." He pulled the Vindicator from his back the and rushed to the main barricade. All around him people were taking cover and preparing their weapons. Waiting for the pirates to poke their ugly heads out. This mixed group of Alliance marines and volunteer colonists was the only fighting force between Illyria and the invaders.

Most of the colonists were inexperienced fighters but what they lacked in skill they more than made up for with their reckless enthusiasm. This was their home and they would fight to the death to protect it. The presence of Alliance marines was also a huge boost to morale, it showed the colonists that they weren't alone in this fight. In preparation of the upcoming battle, marines had begun instructing the colonists in the use of fire arms. For many it was the first time in their lives they would be firing a gun.

He crouched behind the barricade besides Rachel and Lee. Both were scanning the forest with their sniper rifles. Anyone unfortunate enough to be walking into their crosshairs wouldn't be living to tell about it.

"You guy's ready for this?" He asked with his trademark smirk.

"Please, I was born ready Shepard you know that. The only thing I'm scared of is that miss perfect here will be stealing my kills." Lee replied.

"Guess you'll have to punish me then, if you can catch me that is." She teased back.

"Oh I think I can mange that."

"Save that for when this is over and I'm in a different system." Shepard suppressed a laugh while they kept flirting, somehow he liked it better when they were hiding their romance from him. That's what you get for being a diplomatic leader.

At first he didn't hear much activity, that changed when the pirates stumbled upon one of the many hidden minefields. Simultaneous explosions began going off in the forest, wreaking havoc and death on anyone unlucky enough to step on them. The M10 Claymore mines seemed to live up to their deadly reputation. In the Alliance military these mines were also known as _Straight to heaven mines _because the poor soul stepping on it was pretty much guaranteed a one way trip to the sky.

"_I wonder if they know that some of them have a delayed explosion." _A marine questioned. When multiple explosions detonated, he let out a loud victory roar. "_Guess not, don't you just love that sound, Hoorah!"_

It didn't take long for a large group of pirates around hundred men strong to breach the tree line with guns blazing. They continued to keep this up until their officers yelled for them to stop. The complete lack of return fire was confusing them, this was supposed to be the main point of resistance. Where was the Alliance?

Shepard watched as they began arguing amongst themselves, trying to decide if they should wait for backup or keep advancing. The pirates began moving again when a batarian leader shot one of his men and shouted for the rest to move. This mixed group of krogan, batarians and vorcha had no idea of the ambush they were about to walk into.

"Snipers be ready to pick of their leaders, engineers wait until they are all on the bridge, then you can set of the mines." Both units gave a short confirmation response.

"Wait for it, wait for it." The pirates were now halfway over the bridge, still blissfully unaware of the trap. Some were even laughing amongst themselves, clearly thinking that this was going to be a walk in the park. They couldn't have been more wrong.

"_OPEN FIRE_!" He leaned over his cover and began shooting straight at the approaching pirates. The noise was almost deafening when his entire bridge team joined the fight, opening up with everything they had. The heavy machine guns especially did the most damage, taking down multiple pirates at once, even the heavier armored pirates like the krogan couldn't handle this level of punishment.

His first victim was a vorcha, the inferno rounds he had installed on his weapon were gruesomely effective on the poor creature. It frantically tried to put out the flames before it was unceremoniously pushed aside by a charging krogan.

"Charging krogan with a Revenant." He called out, ducking behind his cover when bullets whizzed at him.

"Got him in our sights." Lee replied, carefully taking the shot. "His shields are gone, my lady would you like the honor of making the kill?"

"Always the charmer Lee." Rachel's shot struck both the krogan's hearts, who staggered forward for a split second before falling to the ground. It's place immediately taken by a new horde of pirates.

The combined firepower of the marines and colonists decimated the head of the enemy column before any of them even got halfway across the bridge. The pirates in the back ranks heard the fighting ahead of them and stormed forward, just when the engineers detonated the concealed minefield. The entire bridge shook under the force from the resulting explosions. More than half of the pirate group now lay dead on the bridge, those that were wounded screamed for help but were ignored by their comrades.

The pirate officers yelled for their men to continue the assault, making them easy to locate for Alliance snipers. Panic spread among the remaining pirates when they saw how their leaders were cut down were they stood. Several of them dropped their weapons and ran for their life, trying to reach the safety of the forest.

"Hold fire, hold fire, they're retreating with their tails between their legs." Shepard wasn't about to let his men shoot the pirates in the back. Even though some of them would probably deserve it. The battlefield fell silent as the fighting briefly subsided, granting everyone a moment of pause. Now that the vanguard had been beaten back, it wouldn't be long before the rest of the pirates would show up in force.

"As you can see behind me Maya, Alliance forces have successfully beaten off an attack on the bridge." Shepard's jaw dropped when he saw the reporter and his drone join his group.

"Using deception and clever tactics, sergeant Shepard and his bridge team have made clear to the pirates that they've gotten more than they bargained for." Nuke directed his lens to him, beaming his stunned face to hundreds of families on Elysium.

"That is correct, the extra help of the volunteer colonists has proven invaluable to the Alliance." Shaw answered to the unseen news anchor. "Most of the colonists I've spoken to are adamant about one thing, _**this bridge will not fall**_. After seeing them in action, I believe that more than ever now. Back to you in the studio Maya."

"Well Shepard, I think you just became an instant celebrity on Elysium." Lee commented, smiling sympathetically. "How does this make you feel?"

"Like punching every reporter on sight." He replied with a groan. "Where did he even come from, I thought he was still at the hospital."

"I'm a reporter Shepard, I go where the action is." Shaw jumped in. "This is where I need to be, letting the people at home know what you guys are going through. Besides it helps to be busy otherwise I'd be driving myself insane with worrying over my family."

"I get that, just give me a warning next time." He could understand that Shaw tried to drown himself in work, he'd been in that same position before.

"Have you defeated them already?"

"We've beaten of the advance guard, there is still an entire army of them out there."

"Are you sure? A white flag usually means a willingness to surrender don't you think?" Shaw pointed out.

Shepard wouldn't have believed it if he wasn't watching it with his own eyes. A batarian pirate was walking over the bridge with a large white flag in his hands. It was the most surreal thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Nobody shot at the pirate, who made his way over the bridge, avoiding the bodies of fallen pirates as he did. Maybe because everyone else also didn't believe what they were seeing. Stopping at a safe distance from the barricade, the envoy's amplified voice was loud enough for Shepard to hear.

"I want to talk to the person in charge." He demanded, grinning his teeth widely.

"Well this should be fun, somehow I don't think he wants to talk about peace. I'm not sure if they even know that word." Lee commented, sharing a worried look with Rachel.

"Let's humor him, at the very least it'll buy us some more time." He switched his omni-tool to the Alliance channel so that every person under his command would be able to follow his talk with the pirate.

"The moment he tries anything funny me and Lee will put a bullet in him." Rachel assured him.

"And I'll be filming it, this is history in the making right here." Shaw's drone spun around to film the batarian, who wasn't liking the media attention and made that very clear. "Nuke, could you blur the middle finger on his right hand, my producers can't let that air."

"Well here goes nothing." Shepard vaulted over the barricade with his weapon drawn, walking up to the pirate. The envoy had his arms crossed in front of him and judging by his unamused look wasn't happy to be playing diplomat.

"You are the leader of this bunch of misfits?" The pirate asked bluntly. "I expected someone more important than an average Alliance grunt."

"Well I was expecting someone more intimidating than a garden variety batarian slaver, guess I didn't get what I wanted." The pirates mouth twitched at the insult.

"My boss send me here to tell you that is no point in further fighting, he is willing to discuss a surrender."

Willing to take us all prisoner and then selling us to whoever pays enough was a more plausible explanation of this offer. It was clear that they wanted to keep their easy advance going, with the sixth fleet on the way, time was precious to them.

"We would like to accept your surrender, believe me we really do. But we simply don't have enough room to house you all." His radio channel exploded with people laughing at the pirate's comical baffled expression. "So tell your boss that I respectfully decline his offer of surrender."

"You'll regret this human, mark my words." Without saying another word the envoy threw the flag on the ground and walked back to his lines, yelling some curses that Shepard's auto translator couldn't recognize.

"I never get tired of your negotiating style Shepard, insult the enemy and then hope for the best." Lee said, wiping the tears out of the corners of his eyes. "Can't remember the last time I laughed so hard."

"So what happens now?" Rachel asked, looking away from her sniper rifle.

"Wait for them to make the next move, we can't do much else for now."

He used his time to check on the status of his units, most of them had come through the attack without a scratch. Aside from a few light wounded colonists, the pirates hadn't done much damage to his bridge team.

"_Sergeant, we've got movement in the forest, heat signatures reveal five armored vehicles." _An engineer reported in.

"What kind of armored vehicles, do you mean tanks?"

"_We've got a small recon drone trying to get a visual, standby."_

Colonist and marines alike leaned out of their cover when a ominous rumbling noise came from the forest. Whatever was coming their way, it was big. The people that had missile launchers scrambled to find and arm them.

_Good that we have plenty of those available, more than enough to take out a group of armored vehicles. _Then why did he have this nagging feeling that something was wrong.

"_Oh no! _The engineer exclaimed over the channel. _"Sarge they're not tanks! Repeat they're not tanks. We have confirmation of five mobile artillery units in the forest, where did they …. Shit get your heads down, they're opening fire!" _

Every eye was drawn to the sky where a series of rounds made their way upwards before arching towards the Alliance positions. Shepard had just enough time to yell for everyone to get in cover when the first rounds slammed into the ground.

The entire riverbank transformed into chaos as the artillery barrage continued. Automated turrets and even Mako's were picked up and thrown through air as if they were small toys. Trees were cut in half and fell over, making several units abandon their cover to avoid been crushed to death. Others ran through the barrage to help their wounded friends assisted by Alliance medics.

He tried to reach the engineer again while the ground under him shook in every possible direction. After what felt like an eternity, a connection was established.

"Corporal can you hear me? What is your status?"

"_Corporal Hendricks is gone sir!"_ A panicked voice yelled back. _"A round hit his foxhole directly, none of them made it out of there!"_

"Try to stay calm, I'll send some people to help. Just stay where you are!" He assured the marine.

"_We'll try, please be quick, we've got wounded here. I don't know if Aaargh!" _The connection cut off instantly. He had to do something about those mobile artillery units before he lost any more of his men.

"Blue Devil, do you copy?"

"_I can hear you sarge, do you need backup?"_

"As soon as possible." He admitted. "We're under heavy pirate artillery fire from mobile units hidden in the forest. Can you make a bombing run on them?"

"_Definitely, just sit back and relax. Those guns will be history before you know it."_

Seconds later Shepard saw a group of five Mantis gunships fly over in a V shaped formation, heading directly for the pirate held forest.

* * *

Squadron leader Samantha Kyoko was leading the formation send to support the bridge team. Every one of the Blue devils had grimly anticipated another fight against the pirates, it was time to settle the score with them. When Fort Constantine was destroyed countless of her pilots had been killed, most of them were amongst her closest friends. The seventeenth gunship squadron that once had over a hundred units available could now only field twenty five Mantis gunships.

Sam would never forget the sight of a large smoke cloud over Constantine after the bombing, large enough to cover the sun. When she flew over it there was only a sea of fire and debris below her. At first she was shocked, wasn't there supposed to be an entire defense grid and a fleet to prevent a disaster like that? Now she only wanted revenge, something those pirates would experience real soon.

"Spotted the artillery vehicles Sam, look at your eight o'clock." Her wingman reported.

She banked her Mantis into a hard left turn, trying to get a visual on the pirates between gaps in the clouds. A grin appeared on her face when she finally found them. All the artillery trucks were set up in a neat semi circle, partially hidden by the trees. The lack of AA-fire meant that the pirates hadn't been seen her gunships yet, better make use of the surprise element while it lasted.

"_Follow my lead Devils and pick your targets carefully. Let's go get some payback."_

The entire wing descended like vultures on the unsuspecting pirates. Those that saw the gunships barreling towards them ran for their lives. The ones who weren't so smart opened fire, which the kinetic barriers on an Alliance Mantis could shrug off without a problem.

One by one the artillery trucks were ravaged with rocket fire and bombs as a Blue devil dropped its deadly cargo. The pirates were basically sitting ducks and it didn't take long before the last one exploded into flames. The gunships hovered over the smoldering wrecks for a few minutes, finishing of any stragglers that were still alive. Once Sam was satisfied that their work was done, she opened the comm channel again.

"_That was the last of them, nice work. _She complimented. "_Time to head back home."_

Every Blue devil turned their Mantis around and flew back towards the Alliance lines. Sam was about to join them when she saw movement deeper inside the forest, more pirates maybe? She told her wingman to stay with the others, it wouldn't take long to check it out. She broke off from her group and headed for the anomaly.

"Oh you've got be kidding me." She mumbled to herself when she finally got a closer look. It was another group of artillery trucks who were in the process of preparing themselves for action. Right behind them was a command and control IFV, used for directing the artillery fire. She could count as much as ten trucks, even if she wanted to it was impossible to destroy them all.

But if she could take out their command vehicle, the artillery guns would be less accurate. The odds weren't in her favor though, these pirates wouldn't be caught sleeping like the first group. Sam put her Mantis in another dive before she could doubt her plan even more, she had to do something. With the speed of a comet her gunship dived for the command vehicle.

She saw groups of missiles flying straight at her, without thinking about it she put the Mantis through evasive maneuvers. Most passed by harmlessly but a few impacted their intended target. Red lights began going off in her cockpit as her onboard VI reported various system overloads. The concentrated ground fire took a toll on her Mantis, the kinetic barrier dropped to fifteen percent strength in the blink of an eye. Even so these pirates were too late to stop her.

A swift press of the button and her last bombs dropped from the belly of the gunship. Each of them hit home, penetrating the light armor and killing everyone inside. Sam smiled when the VI projected a most pleasant image in front of her. The force of the explosions had lifted the vehicle into the air, were it stayed for a brief second before dropping back to the ground. Disappearing in a ball of fire.

She didn't have much time to savor the small victory though when another volley of missiles was fired at her. This time however there was no time left to evade them. The Mantis buckled under the simultaneous explosions from the rockets but stayed in the air. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep it that way.

Her VI provided a bleak report on the ship integrity. There were critical hull breaches all over the gunship, the kinetic barrier was gone and her engines were damaged beyond repair. As she navigated her damaged Mantis, she grew more and more concerned. The noise from the engines was growing louder with every passing minute. She wasn't sure if the gunship could hold it out much longer.

_Come on girl, hang in there. We're almost there._

Sam let out a sigh of relief when she spotted the bridge, maybe she might make it after all. Landing her gunship would be another matter entirely though when her VI reported yet another problem. She glanced a worried look at her control panel, the overworked engines had finally ceased to work. It was a miracle they'd gotten her this far, she immediately felt the loss of gravity as her Mantis dropped from the sky.

As the bridge grew closer, Sam said a silent prayer.

* * *

It was hard not to join the others when they jumped up and down, cheering loudly as the Mantis group did a victory roll when they flew over. The artillery fire had stopped completely, giving medics the chance to evacuate the wounded and engineers to assess the damage. He looked over to Lee who finally had managed to pull himself from the crushing hug Rachel had locked him in.

"Remind me to buy those pilots a drink when this war is over." He said with a nod to the gunships in the distance. "They've earned it."

"Yeah they sure did." Shepard replied as he watched the other side of the bridge. The pirates had become suspiciously quiet when the barrage stopped, something was up.

"_This is squadron leader Sam Kyoko, I've taken heavy damage to my gunship! Engines and shields are down and I'm losing altitude rapidly. If you can hear me, I'm going to set her down at the bridge."_

A Mantis with a trail of black smoke behind it came into view, from what he could tell it was pretty beat up. It's pilot made a few course corrections, trying to land on the bridge. A smooth landing could've worked if the pirates hadn't seen the Mantis and unloaded on it.

Parts of it dropped off when a explosion tore of the tail section, sending the gunship spiraling out of control. With a hard impact the cockpit crashed on the concrete bridge, rolling over its own side several times before it fully stopped. Flames slowly began to spread along the outer hull, without help that pilot wouldn't survive.

"Great, now what? Lee said. "Trying to reach that Mantis without cover is a fast way to get killed. What do you think Shep?" Before he even got an answer, Shepard jumped past him over the barricade. Making a mad dash towards the Mantis.

"Shepard you're crazy!" He yelled after him. "Come on people, give him cover fire!"

Every member of the bridge team followed the order, doing everything they could to distract the pirates from the lone man running over the bridge.

"Oh no you don't." Rachel dropped another pirate with a sniper rifle who tried to hit Shepard who was almost at the Mantis. She still wasn't sure if it was the bravest or dumbest act she'd ever seen. Could be both.

Shepard ran as fast as he could, hearing the sound of near misses only made him run harder. There was only one thing that was important right now, he had to reach that gunship, nothing else mattered. The last few meters cost him his shields, making him even more vulnerable as he slid himself besides the wreck.

The glass from the cockpit had large cracks all over it, from what he could see through it the pilot inside was still alive. He yelled a warning and slammed his rifle butt against the glass which immediately began to gave way. After several blows the gap he'd created was wide enough for him to crouch through it.

"Everything alright?" He carefully removed the pilot's helmet, revealing a black haired asian woman.

"My gunship is gone, I'm convinced that my legs are broken and we're both stuck on this bridge. So yeah I'm peachy." She wiped away some blood that was coming from her head. "You the sergeant I talked to earlier?"

"The name's Shepard." The medi-gel he applied stopped the bleeding but how was he going to get her out of here? "Thanks for getting rid of the artillery fire, you saved countless lives."

"There is more of them on the way, at best we bought you some time." She answered. "I got their command vehicle though, so the next barrage should be less accurate than before."

"If that's the case then we can't stay here, if the pirates won't kill us the fire will." He replied as he glanced outside.

He removed the safety harness from her body and carefully pulled her out of the wreckage. Even so Sam seemed to be in a lot of pain but he didn't hear protest once. She was a strong person, he had to give her that. Getting out of the Mantis was the easy part, getting back to the barricade wouldn't be. Even with cover fire from his bridge team it would be a long shot, he wouldn't even get halfway with the pilot in his arms.

Staying here also wasn't an option, when the pirates would launch another attack he would be overrun. Leaving her behind didn't even cross his mind, he would never forgive himself if he did. While he pondered their next move his eyes drifted to the sky above him. As if the answer would come falling through the clouds. So when that happened he couldn't believe his luck.

Four gunships thundered over him and opened fire with their mounted machine guns, carving through pirates foolish enough to move up towards the downed Mantis. When that threat was eliminated, they targeted other pirates who were in cover. Aiming to keep them there.

"It's my wingmen, they came back for me." Sam supplied with a pained grin.

He picked her up from the ground and moved her into his arms so she wouldn't fall. The pirates attention was elsewhere now so this would be their best chance of escape.

After taking a last breath he stormed out of their cover back to the barricade, never running in a straight line in order to make himself a harder target. Behind him the gunships used their last rockets on the pirates, creating new craters were they impacted. There was still enough resistance but their primary objective was completed when Shepard got behind the barricade.

Together with the assistance of another marine, he helped her inside an already waiting Mako. A medic started working on her wounds right away, stabilizing her broken legs and applying medi-gel to prevent any further infection. Satisfied that she was in good hands, he jumped out of the Mako.

"Shepard wait!" Sam sat up, getting her a disapproving look from the medic. "Thanks for rescuing me, I would be dead right now if it wasn't for you." She winked shortly. "Should you ever need air support or someone to buy you a drink let me know. I'll be glad to return the favor."

"I'm going to take you up on that promise. Take care Sam." He closed the hatch and slammed his hand against the Mako. It roared to live and pulled on the main road, speeding off to the Alliance camp.

He started running back to the barricade when the pirates opened up with another artillery barrage. This time most of the rounds harmlessly fell in the river or the forest behind the Alliance positions. Maintaining control over the bridge had just become slightly easier. When the pirates would attack again, they would have to do so without artillery support.

Shepard was still thinking on ways to hold off such an attack when without warning a stray shell landed ahead of him. The resulting force send him flying backwards, making him fall on the hard road. For a split second he lay dazed on the ground, his brain trying to catch up to what happened. As his entire world became black and he started to lose consciousness, he was sure of one thing.

_This is really going to hurt when I wake up._


End file.
